A study involving 12 hearing sign language users examined the effect of the signing task on temporal features of speech during simultaneous communication (SC). Results indicated longer sentence duration for SC than speech-only conditions, and longer anticipatory duration of the diphthong and interword interval preceding the experimental words.…

The study compared scores on a literacy battery of hearing-impaired subjects exposed to either an instructional communication system that attempts to completely encode a language (e.g. oral English, Signing Exact English) or to signed systems that incompletely encode spoken English. Students using the completely encoded language tended to perform…

A mother of a hearing-impaired two year old offers examples of utilizing siblings (who have learned sign language) to foster the language development and socialization of the younger child. (DB)

This study investigated speaking rate and voice onset time (VOT) in speech produced during simultaneous communication (SC) by speakers with normal hearing. The somewhat enlarged voicing contrast during SC was consistent with previous findings regarding the influence of rate changes on the temporal fine structure of speech and voicing contrast…

The study demonstrated the utility of the alternating treatments design in determining the most efficacious language training approach with mentally retarded children. Oral communication, total communication, and modified total communication were each used with two children in three trials. The preferred approach was consistent within each subject…

Materials written by T. H. Gallaudet on the subject of sign language and communication are reviewed that indicate that some of his ideas regarding the use of sign language in teaching deaf students may have been partially misunderstood. (Author/SW)

The article focuses on the various dimensions of the auditory-oral track which features the auditory-oral method of instruction for hearing impaired children. The author stresses the Alexander Graham Bell Association's commitment to auditory-oral options for deaf children and youth. (SB)

The word identification directives developed by the Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction (ECRI) were modified for use in a Total Communication integrated classroom with seven hearing impaired third graders. Pilot tests showed that the hearing impaired students substantially increased their reading and spelling vocabularies. (Author)

A study investigated prosodic variables of syllable stress and intonation contours in speech produced during the simultaneous communication (SC) of ten hearing sign language users. Results indicated longer sentence duration for SC than speech only conditions. Vowel duration and frequency differences between stressed and unstressed syllables were…

A six-year longitudinal evaluation was made of the effectiveness of the various early intervention strategies being emphasized in seven preschool programs for hearing-impaired children. (Author/DLS)

Follow-up on 14 originally mute, low-functioning autistic children one to four years after intensive simultaneous communication training indicated that half of the children who had become verbal by program termination remained verbal at follow-up. Maintenance at follow-up was related to such factors as length of program participation, quality of…

The article reviews augmentative and alternative communication symbol classifications reported in the literature over the past decade. The "aided/unaided" dichotomy (based on user production of the symbol) is proposed as the superordinate level of classification, rather than the "static/dynamic" (based on transmission of…

A Pearson product-moment correlation of .913 between the two instruments demonstrated overwhelming commonality and supported the hypothesis that the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised Performance score may provide a convenient alternative to the Hiskey-Nebraska when the score is computed using the Anderson and Sisco deaf norms and a…

The article reviews linguistic features of a trilingual approach to total communication for deaf children from non-English-speaking families. Covered are issues of syntax, semantics, and use of fingerspelling. (CL)

An elementary school class that learned sign language also benefited from several positive side effects. As the students developed a new means of communication, they also become more aware of deaf individuals and their needs. (DF)