This article describes British Sign Language (BSL) as a viable option for teaching science. BSL is used by a vast number of people in Britain but is seldom taught in schools or included informally alongside lessons. With its new addition of a large scientific glossary, invented to modernise the way science is taught to deaf children, BSL breaks…

Obtaining appropriate special education and related services to establish the best educational environment--academically and socially--has not only been challenging but also downright daunting. The decisions the author has made supporting his children, 6-year-old James who is deaf and 12-year-old Miia who is hard of hearing, are, in part, derived…

By using depiction, language users are able to provide information about what an entity or event is like, what it looks like, or even what it acts like. When giving a presentation, signers may use and reuse instances of depiction and may switch from one instance to another. In an examination of 160 minutes of video of American Sign Language (ASL)…

This study investigated visual statistical learning (VSL) in 24 deaf signers and 24 hearing non-signers. Previous research with hearing individuals suggests that SL mechanisms support literacy. Our first goal was to assess whether VSL was associated with reading ability in deaf individuals, and whether this relation was sustained by a link between…

This article discusses the joys, rewards, and challenges of using Deaf history as a framework for teaching Deaf studies, Deaf history and culture, and American Sign Language to hearing undergraduates in a liberal arts college oriented to social justice.

In this study we explored the revision process and strategies implemented by deaf and hearing students who attend the same bilingual school context (LIS and Italian). For that we analysed and compared the types and quality of revisions made by deaf and hearing participants to their first draft of a narrative text ("Frog, Where Are You?")…

New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) became an official language (NZSL Act 2006) when its vitality was already under pressure. Even though its institutional status has improved recently, the traditional community domains of NZSL use and transmission are apparently shrinking inasmuch as most of the deaf children who have cochlear implants are acquiring…

This article describes the experiences of some of the many families of the deaf and hard of hearing children who come to Shared Reading Saturdays at Northern Essex Community College (NECC) in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The program, which includes monthly gatherings and is coordinated by the NECC's Gallaudet University Regional Center, features deaf…

Visual communication design (VCD) is a form of nonverbal communication. The application of relevant linguistic or semiotic theories to VCD education renders graphic design an innovative and scientific discipline. In this study, actual teaching activities were examined to verify the feasibility of applying narrative theory to graphic design…

The national policy in deaf education in Mainland China primarily focuses on oral/aural instruction and hearing rehabilitation. The curriculum in primary grades is specifically structured on speech and hearing skills for language development. But there is little evidence that documents what early literacy instruction looks like or how teachers…

Deaf and hard-of-hearing persons are at risk for experiencing traumatic events and such experiences are associated with symptoms of mental disorder. We investigated the prevalence of traumatic events and subsequent traumatization in adults referred to specialized psychiatric outpatient units for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients. Sixty-two…

All children have the right to education that meets their needs and aims to enable them full integration in their society. Education should guarantee all children an equal chance to actively participate in society regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or disability (Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989). Yet sophisticated mechanisms within…

Parents with deaf children face many challenges in making educational choices, developing language and a sense of belonging. Other key aspects of life including concept development and social competency are also critical decision points faced by parents. Developing language, whether it is through spoken or signed modalities, is of utmost…

This article presents a portrait of two community-level and legal efforts in Canada to obtain official recognition of ASL and LSQ (Langue des signes quebecoise), both of which are recognized as official languages by the Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD). In order to situate this issue in the Canadian linguistic context, the authors first…

This article addresses the special challenges associated with collecting longitudinal samples of the spontaneous sign language and spoken language production by young bimodal bilingual children. We discuss the methods used in our study of children in the United States and Brazil. Since one of our goals is to observe both sign language and speech,…