Compared production of gestures, signs, and words by a child simultaneously acquiring sign language and speech to that of a group of children exposed only to speech. Found that exposure to sign language influences the extent to which the manual modality of expression is used for communicative purposes but does not alter the rate or course of…

Describes patterns of interaction between hard of hearing and deaf children as well as hard of hearing children. Shows that an easily used sign language code enabled the children to take part in dialogs and had positive consequences for their play as well as their social and emotional development. (DSK)

This article outlines linguistic barriers to due process for deaf defendants including: a speedy trial as a function of due process, linguistic diversity as a function of culture, cultural literacy as a function of due process, linguistic diversity as a function of education, linguistic deprivation, and language (including sign language)…

Studied the case of bilingual acquisition across two modalities to examine diverging hypotheses about the types of knowledge underlying early bilingualism. Three children acquiring Langues des Signes Quebecoise and French, and three children acquiring French and English were videotaped over a year while novel and familiar speakers of each child's…

This article describes the impetus and rationale for the development of the Sign Language Skills Classroom Observation (SLSCO) assessment. The procedure for developing the SLSCO is discussed and the results of use of the SLSCO with National Technical Institute for the Deaf faculty (n=14) during a trial year are summarized. (Contains references.)…

Describes a new approach to teaching English-as-a-Second-Language to New Mexico elementary school students who have hearing impairments and whose dominant language is American Sign Language (ASL). These students must first acquire ASL as a bridge to learning English. Then, using the bilingual approach, they are able to focus on English literacy.…

This article describes the adaptation of the Test Battery for American Sign Language Morphology and Syntax for Australian Sign Language. Data collected from a group of native signers who were deaf (n=25) demonstrate the range of variability in key grammatical features of Australian Sign Language and raise methodological issues. (Contains…

First-, fourth-, and ninth-grade hearing students (n=30) were administered Carolina Picture Vocabulary Test items to determine if signs used in the test are iconic and can convey meaning at the moment of testing. The signs were sufficiently iconic to enable students unfamiliar with signs to identify a test picture. (Author/CR)

A study documented the literacy development of a preschool child with deafness. Findings indicated he went through several levels as he learned to read: focusing on pictures in books, reading familiar words in context, focusing on sign print, relating sign print to written English, and reading written English independently. (Contains references.)…

Presents a unit on clay that is centered around sign language in which students explore the slab method of working with clay. States that each student picks a letter of the sign language alphabet and fashions a clay hand to depict the letter. (CMK)

This study describes changes at an Australian school for the deaf toward a language policy favoring the increased use of Australian Sign Language and bilingual pedagogy. Teachers' dissatisfaction with educational outcomes and current practices propelled these changes. Beliefs about language policy and practices are explored, as are the…

This article is based on field research that we conducted in a north Bali school (SLB Bagian B) for deaf students. The study involves documentation of the linguistic environments within which deaf people operate, focusing on the use of sign languages by deaf and hearing people. The following material on policies and practices oriented toward the…

This paper examines the use of the Disability Discrimination Act (Commonwealth of Australia, 1992) by parents seeking access for their deaf children to native sign language in the classroom. It reviews a number of cases in which Australian parents have claimed indirect discrimination by educational authorities over their children's lack of access…

Sign language in the Arab World has been recently recognized and documented. Many efforts have been made to establish the sign language used in individual countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Libya, and the Gulf States, by trying to standardize the language and spread it among members of the Deaf community and those concerned. Such efforts produced…

The Deaf Initiative in Information Technology (DIIT) was developed at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at the Rochester Institute of Technology through a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant with goals including the provision of continuing education for deaf and hard-of-hearing professionals. Instructors skilled in sign…