This article describes how teaching deaf students to read has been challenging and contentious, yet, one crucial attribute to developing reading skills is early exposure to American Sign Language (ASL). ASL seemed to serve as a bridge to achieving English literacy and academic success partly because early use of ASL enables deaf students to…

Fingerspelling and its relationship with literacy skills among deaf and hard of hearing children who use American Sign Language is an increasingly popular research topic. However, there is limited research on whether reading interventions that systematically include fingerspelling are more effective for improving literacy skills than reading…

A number of language acquisition patterns have been identified in the signing of a newly designated population of bimodal bilingual individuals--"heritage signers." This article examines subject-referent tracking forms in the ASL (American Sign Language) narratives of six elementary-school-aged, native-signing, bimodal bilinguals made at…

This study, which is part of a larger longitudinal ethnographic study of young deaf children, reports on deaf children's use of fingerspelling. The children observed were early signers using Swedish Sign Language (SSL) in communication with teachers and peers. This study centres on the functions of fingerspelling in the children's everyday…

This article describes the case of a deaf native signer of American Sign Language (ASL) with a specific language impairment (SLI). School records documented normal cognitive development but atypical language development. Data include school records; interviews with the child, his mother, and school professionals; ASL and English evaluations; and a…

The authors conducted an integrative review of the research literature on the writing development, writing instruction, and writing assessment of young deaf children ages 3 to 8 years (or preschool through third grade) published between 1990 and 2012. A total of 17 studies were identified that met inclusion criteria. The analysis examined research…

This paper presents a study of children's use of fingerspelling. It is part of a larger longitudinal ethnographic study of deaf children, who were 3-6 years old when the study started. They are early signers using Swedish Sign Language in communication with teachers and peers. The aim of this paper is to examine the different functions which…

Over time children's educational television has successfully modified programming to incorporate research-based strategies to facilitate learning and engagement during viewing. However, research has been limited on whether these same strategies would work with preschool deaf children viewing videos in American Sign Language. In a descriptive…

Reports on a study of the acquisition of fingerspelling, a manual system for representing the alphabet, by young deaf children whose first language is American Sign Language. Describes the system of fingerspelling and its use in the American deaf community and discusses the interaction of fingerspelling and signed language. (SED)

Examination of a profoundly deaf child's fingerspelling in more than 100 hours of interaction videotaped at intervals over six years revealed a gradual acquisition of the rules for fingerspelling and knowledge of the relation of fingerspelling to signs and to printed and spoken words. (Author/CB)

The study of deaf children's early literacy raises fundamental issues about their access to language, experiences of early interaction and literacy development. However, we currently understand very little about how young deaf children develop literacy skills given their exceptional linguistic circumstances. This review explores early literacy…

Two deaf children of deaf parents were studied over a period of several years for their acquisition of "-ing", "-'s"; "-s", "-d", and the particle "to." Although the children soon perceived the signed forms of these morphemes, they were slow to understand the function of the morphemes. (Author/LMO)

This article discusses the incidence of infant hearing impairments, auditory screening tests, and available intervention choices for infants with severe to profound congenital hearing loss, including methods for communication and cochlear implantation. American Sign language, manually coded English, fingerspelling, total communication, and…