Fifty-seven college students enrolled in their first week of introductory manual communication classes demonstrated limited ability to assess their own communication skills. A discussion of sign systems, interpreter skills, and ethics aided some students in putting their skills into perspective, but 41% continued to overestimate their abilities at…

The families of 325 adolescents with deafness were surveyed to assess the relationship between the communication modes used by families and family cohesion. The mother's use of sign language predicted family cohesion, and the child's degree of hearing loss and mode of communication predicted the mother's use of sign language. (Author/JDD)

Because the relationship of gesticulation to sign language has not received much research attention, this study considers gesture and sign among users of signed and oral languages. Results suggest that gestures produced by deaf individuals can be distinguished from the sign language in which they are embedded, including their semantic and…

Describes the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and discusses its implications for both public and private libraries. The term "disability" is defined; sources of federal regulations that pertain to libraries are cited; the need for sign language interpreters is discussed; Braille materials are considered; and staff requirements are…

This article raises concerns about current trends toward increasing bilingual, bicultural education for deaf children. It notes that such programs often discourage the use of voice and spoken language by the deaf child and those in his environment, delay the child's introduction to English, and unreasonably expect hearing persons to use American…

This reprinted article discusses the intrinsic value and indispensable necessity of the use of natural signs in the education of students with deafness. The benefits of sign language over oral language, the use of sign language to teach moral development, and the need for a common language is discussed. (CR)

This reprinted article discusses the overemphasis of sign language, which contributes to their isolation, in teaching students with deafness. Teachers are urged to avoid signing in the classroom when spelling on fingers or using written language will convey the same information. (CR)

This reprinted article from 1899 argues against the abolition of sign language in the classrooms of students with deafness. It also discusses the benefits of sign language and the ability of sign language to explain words and to convey information. (CR)

Reviews claims proposing that knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL) facilitates reading development in deaf children. It offers support for one such claim although it argues that the relationship does not develop naturally but must be cultivated through experiences that serve to direct attention to correspondences between different language…

Includes six articles that describe public library programs for teens. Highlights include interactive murder mysteries; a girl scout sleepover program on career awareness; sign language workshop; a Science Fair help day that included guest speakers; a unit on fairy tales and legends; and a project to enhance creativity and self-esteem. (LRW)

Maintains that language as humans now produce and comprehend evolved from languagelike precursors in the communication systems of nonhuman primates. The article reviews "Gesture and the Nature of Language" (GNL) (1995) and notes that GNL derives syntax incrementally without diluting it to an element not recognizable as a property of language. (37…

A study examined the process of grammaticalization in American Sign Language, examining basic principles and patterns and drawing parallels with oral language. More advanced stages of grammaticalization (involving fusion and affecting syntax) are examined in depth, leading to proposal of a temporal-ordering analysis to explain sequencing of verbal…

Looks at patterns of conceptual encoding in American Sign Language (ASL), drawing from adults' retellings of a story. Results suggest that ASL encodes a great deal of conceptual information about motion events, significantly more than English and presumably more than most other spoken languages. (Author/VWL)

Provides a bilingual perspective about literacy development in deaf students and uses the bilingual perspective to recommend effective teaching strategies for this group of students with special needs. (Author/VWL)

Examined potential effects of early exposure to sign language on the use of communicative gestures by a bilingual hearing child of deaf parents. Data were analyzed to identify types and tokens of communicative gestures, words, signs, and the ways in which they were combined. (Author/VWL)