Writing is an essential element of literacy development, and language plays a central role in the composing process, including developing, organizing, and refining ideas. Language and writing are interconnected, making it paramount for educators to attend to the development of deaf students' language skills. In this quasi-experimental study, we…

Young deaf and hard-of-hearing children enrolling in school in Sri Lanka often display language delay due to limited amplification and limited language stimulation. The scarcity of speech and language therapy support within the educational context at present necessitates a rethink of service-delivery models to reach more children. Multi-sensory…

The nature of this research study examines the relationship between text-talking and writing skills used by American Sign Language (ASL) and English speakers. When given ample opportunity to text-talk in academic settings, it is likely that students will improve their expressive communication and writing skills. The main research question asks:…

Expressive language is an important skill to develop in children with intellectual disabilities. It not only aids in decreasing the likelihood of challenging behaviors from occurring but also aids in increasing the individuals independence and assistance in them becoming successful members of society. No previous studies have examined the…

There is little evidence that infants learn from infant-oriented educational videos and television programming. This 4-week longitudinal experiment investigated 15-month-olds' (N = 92) ability to learn American Sign Language signs (e.g., patting head for hat) from at-home viewing of instructional video, either with or without parent support,…

In school, deaf and hard of hearing students (d/hh) are often exposed to American Sign Language (ASL) while also developing literacy skills in English. ASL does not have a written form, but is a fully accessible language to the d/hh through which it is possible to mediate understanding, draw on prior experiences, and engage critical thinking and…

The Authors examined classifier production during narrative retells by 10 deaf and hard of hearing students in grades 2-4 at a day school for the deaf following a 6-week intervention of repeated viewings of stories in American Sign Language (ASL) paired with scripted teacher mediation. Classifier production, documented through a…

The reading skills of many deaf children lag several years behind those of hearing children, and there is a need for identifying reading difficulties and implementing effective reading support strategies in this population. This study embraces a balanced reading approach, and investigates the efficacy of applying multi-sensory coding strategies…

We review recommendations for sequencing instruction in receptive and expressive language objectives in early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) programs. Several books recommend completing receptive protocols before introducing corresponding expressive protocols. However, this recommendation has little empirical support, and some…

Advances in technology have significantly influenced educational delivery options, particularly in the area of American Sign Language (ASL) instruction. As a result, ASL online courses are currently being explored in higher education. The review of literature remains relatively unexplored regarding the effectiveness of learning ASL online. In…

The objective of this study was to teach manual signs through an automated matching-to-sample procedure and to test for the emergence of new conditional relations and imitative behaviors. Seven adults with mild to severe mental retardation participated. Four were also hearing impaired. Relations between manual signs (set A) and pictures (set B)…

This article discusses the use of sign language to facilitate language development of children with developmental disabilities mainstreamed into the early childhood setting. It discusses the benefits of using sign language, presents a rationale for its use, and provides instructional guidelines and resources. (JDD)

This paper examines the importance of hands for the person who is deafblind, reviews hand development, and identifies specific teaching skills that facilitate hand development and expressiveness in persons who are deafblind. It notes that the hands of a deafblind individual serve not only as tools but also as sense organs (to compensate for their…

A study of three hearing, moderately handicapped children (seven and eight years old) was undertaken in order to examine the acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of sign language production with this population. (PHR)

Describes how teamwork, consistency, and use of sign language helped a child with Down Syndrome and deafness to increase her vocabulary from less than 20 words at the beginning of kindergarten to 228 words by the end of first grade. Six specific teaching strategies are outlined. (DB)