Deaf Education

This paper examines the construct of evidence-based practice, how existing data on the effectiveness of the Auditory-Verbal approach for children with hearing loss are evaluated within this construct, and whether implementation of an Auditory-Verbal intervention model is therefore justified. It concludes with a recurrent call for action toward collaborative multi-center research.

Hearing loss causes major challenges in individuals' lives. If educators are able to understand the implications of hearing loss on educational opportunities, we could learn how to appropriately intervene in learning contents. This article presents considerations about the benefits of intervention, technology, and inclusion strategies in the deaf and hard of hearing community. Becoming familiar with these techniques and strategies will enable educators, coaches, and facilitators of opportunities to offer greater opportunities for individuals who are deaf.

In this talk, the presenter will address the nature of impairments of sight and hearing in education, and how they affect teaching and learning in the classroom, through three specific topics:  firstly, he will summarise the nature of hearing and sight impairments, and identify the nature of the different forms of impairment; secondly, he will summarise the causes of such impairments, and many of the cultural and social stigmas that go with them; thirdly; he will address the problems that can arise in class between teachers and students with impairments, and how these can be overcome.

The article discusses the multiple discrimination, normalization and stigmatization experienced by deaf LGBT youth in Sicily, Italy, on the basis of a study of their everyday life (specifically school years and peer interactions). So far in Italy, very little attention has been paid to multiple discrimination and, specifically, to homophobic violence towards disabled individuals. It is, therefore, impossible to consider any valid sampling of the desired population and very few reports have been produced. The authors, a sociologist and a psychologist, carry out an analysis of the results obtained from interviews with 15 LGBT individuals recruited through social networks, thematic chats, and associations. This preliminary analysis aims at identifying the key arguments which could form the basis for future strategic inclusion programs and further research projects.

In April 2019, learners of the eighth grade in Poland took the eighth-grade exam introduced by the 2017 education reform. The test is going to assess the extent to which they mastered the material specified in the 2017 General Education Core Curriculum. The article focuses on the comparison of eighth-grade English exam sheet for hearing learners and exam sheet for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing learners, in terms of working time, types and number of tasks, requirements and tested language skills. The article presents differences and similarities between mentioned exam versions and provides characteristics of d/Deaf learners.

Resumo Este artigo traz algumas reflexões sobre as dificuldades apresentadas por alunos surdos na aquisição de conceitos químicos. Entende-se que as dificuldades desses estudantes são as mesmas dos alunos ouvintes, em decorrência da baixa carga horária da disciplina, da elevada abstração dos conceitos e da ausência de laboratórios. Entretanto, algumas características dos alunos surdos, somadas às dificuldades anteriores, dificultam ainda mais sua aprendizagem. Entre esses fatores estão: a ausência de formação científica do Intérprete da Língua de Sinais, a inexistência de sinais para determinados conceitos científicos e a língua portuguesa, utilizada pelo professor, diferente da língua do aluno surdo. Palavras-chave: Ensino de química. Estudantes surdos. Educação inclusiva. A apropriação de conceitos científicos pelos estudantes nos anos finais do ensino fundamental e durante todo o ensino médio é importante para a formação da cidadania assim como para o desenvolvimento da capacidade de tomada de decisão (SANTOS; SCHNETZLER, 1996). Segundo os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais do Ensino Médio (PCNEM), a Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional (LDB) e o Plano Nacional de Educação (PNE) são conhecimentos que possibilitarão a formação de cidadãos críticos, autônomos e reflexivos. De acordo com o PCN+ Ensino Médio, que contém orientações complementares aos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais, abordando as Ciências da Natureza, a Matemática e as suas Tecnologias, o conhecimento químico formulou-se, historicamente, centrado em "estudos de natureza empírica sobre as transformações químicas e as propriedades dos materiais e

Celem niniejszego artykułu jest omówienie zadań uczelni wyższych w zakresie
zapewnienia studentom głuchym i niedosłyszącym warunków do pełnego udziału
w zajęciach akademickich. Szczególną uwagę zwracamy na konieczność wykorzystywania polskiego języka migowego (PJM) jako pełnowartościowego medium komunikacji. Za kluczowe zadanie uczelni należy uznać zapewnienie profesjonalnej
obsługi tłumaczeniowej w  tym języku. Konieczna jest współpraca z  tłumaczami
o najwyższych kwalifikacjach – nie tylko biegle władającymi PJM, ale także posiadającymi odpowiednie doświadczenie w tłumaczeniu specjalistycznym/naukowym
oraz świadomość kwestii etycznych związanych z wykonywaniem tego zawodu.
Ważnym zadaniem uczelni jest odpowiednie przygotowanie nauczycieli akademickich do pracy ze studentami głuchymi i niedosłyszącymi. W czynieniu dydaktyki akademickiej przystępną dla studentów z ubytkiem słuchu pomóc mogą również
słyszący asystenci prowadzący notatki w trakcie zajęć lub opracowujący transkrypcje z nagrań wykładów. Jako przykład dobrych praktyk w tym zakresie przedstawiamy rozwiązania stosowane obecnie przez Uniwersytet Warszawski, a w szczególności przez Biuro ds. Osób Niepełnosprawnych (BON) tej uczelni.

Academic education of the deaf
The purpose of this article is to discuss the tasks of higher education institutions as regards the creation of conditions that would make it possible for deaf
and hard of hearing students to fully participate in academic classes. Particular
attention is paid to the necessity of using Polish Sign Language (PJM) as a full-
-fledged medium of communication. Providing professional sign language interpretation services should be considered a key task facing higher education
institutions. It is necessary to work with interpreters with the highest qualifications – not only those who are fluent in PJM but also those who have appropriate experience in specialist/scientific interpreting and are aware of ethical issues connected with pursuing this profession. Another important task of higher education institutions is to properly prepare academic teachers to work
with deaf and hard of hearing students. Academic teaching may be made more
accessible to students with hearing loss with the help of hearing assistants who
could take notes during classes or prepare transcripts of recordings of the lectures. As an example of good practice in this area, we present the solutions
currently used by the University of Warsaw, and in particular by the Office for
Persons with Disabilities (BON).

Rhoades 126 families. First, what is meant by evidence-based practice (EBP) and the A-V approach, often known as AVT? Second, what data justify implementation of the A-V approach? Thirdly, how can implementation of the A-V approach be justified?

The first large-scale, nationwide academic achievement testing program using Stanford Achievement Test (Stanford) for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the United States started in 1969. Over the past three decades, the Stanford has served as a benchmark in the field of deaf education for assessing student academic achievement. However, the validity and reliability of using the Stanford for this special student population still require extensive scrutiny. Recent shifts in educational policy environment, which require that schools enable all children to achieve proficiency through accountability testing, warrants a close examination of the adequacy and relevance of the current large-scale testing of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. This study has three objectives: (a) it will summarize the historical data over the last three decades to indicate trends in academic achievement for this special population, (b) it will analyze the current federal laws and regulations related to educational testing and special education, thereby identifying gaps between policy and practice in the field, especially identifying the limitations of current testing programs in assessing what deaf and hard-of-hearing students know, and (c) it will offer some insights and suggestions for future testing programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Deaf lag far behind their hearing peers in reading, in a task that seems to be essential for succeeding in education, in professional life and in contemporary society. Researchers have examined whether deaf readers necessarily need to use phonological skills in reading, however studies have produced ambiguous results; other possible correlates of reading ability in deaf have been investigated and it have been discovered that language ability, independently of modality (sign or spoken language), have a great infl uence on reading development in deaf. A great number of deaf are bilingual: sign language is their fi rst language and written form of spoken language is their second language; several studies have reported relation between sign language and reading in deaf and that sign language may serve as a bridge to the reading skills; this fi nding bring out to a sign-spoken (written) bilingual approach in the education of deaf children in general and in teaching deaf children to read in particular. K e y w o r d s: deaf, reading, bilingualism, sign language

The paper presents a discussion about the understanding of deafness as focus or matrix of experience. Therefore, it stresses ways of being deaf produced and regulated in deaf educability contexts according to the foucauldian studies in Education. It uses the governmentality as an intelligibility grid, which are inscribed practices of deaf constitution, and operates with the normalization, the government and the subjectivity as theorical-methodological tools. From the discussion, highlighted the description of three axes that constitute deafness as matrix of experience: the production of knowledge about deafness and deaf people, the normativity of their behaviors and their ways of
subjectivation.

This study investigates knowledge on use of body extremities and body in space by children who are deaf or hard-ofhearing. A random sample of 60 participants was used in the study, with chronological age of 6 to 8 years. Experimental group of 30 participants involved pupils who are deaf or hard-of-hearing both male and female who attend school
in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Control group of 30 participants involved pupils who are typically hearing both
male and female who were chronologically matched to the participants in the experimental group. Measuring instruments were created for the purpose of extracting quantitative data analysis, scaled from 1 to 5 units of measurement. The
results are showed significant differences between children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and children who are typically hearing (F=23, 08 p=0.00). The children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing showed significantly weaker knowledge
of perception of body movements.
Key words: Perception of body movements, recognition of dotted shapes, forward and backward walking.

Deafness is unbound by geography. Deaf people constitute a heterogeneous, globalized ethnic minority who are singularly linked. Often thought to be rendered powerless by disability, deaf people generate forms of power that disrupt conventional ontology and epistemology by way of divergent adaptations of visuospatial language modalities. As creators and users, deaf people have positioned themselves at the cutting-edge of innovation by developing and repurposing digital technologies to secure insurgent power in the face of sociopolitical oppression. This paper establishes digital environments of deaf education (DE2) as an object of study. Research reviewed in this study (Bauman & Murray, 2014; Thoutenhoofd, 2010; Young and Temple, 2014), demonstrates that multimodality is a critically important but undertheorized concept related to power in deaf education. The paper reviews multimodality theory, entrained as a lens to examine DE2. Findings are subdivided into three categories: (1) the purposes for which DE2 are used, (2) the practices constitutive of DE2, and (3) the characteristics of learners and educators within DE2. The paper closes by examining DE2 exemplars via multimodality.
This paper contextualizes multimodality theory in digital-epistemological paradigms and analyzes their combined effects upon operations of power in deaf pedagogical practices, including how knowledge is created and shared by deaf people using digital technologies and pedagogical practices derived thereof. This investigation examines how technosocial tools are embedded in a nexus of historical, social, political, and educational changes—at key times, deaf people effectuate change with celerity. This paper argues that theoretical deaf research is clarified by multimodality; likewise, multimodality benefits by considering deaf ontologies/epistemologies. Converging domains illuminate the dynamism and synergy of technosocial changes in history, and contributes to literatures on the history of technology by documenting complex, interdependent relationships between digital knowledge modalities and the deaf users who drive their development.

Many Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children struggle with language which follows throughout their life, impact their academic achievement. In the academic setting, the curriculum of the school, which includes all the planned and unplanned activities, becomes a major barrier because of the language use. There are many levels of challenges for DHH students in accessing the regular curriculum which does not cater their language and visual needs. This paper attempts to discuss some of those challenges. Further through the paper, we discuss the possible options for educators to improve the academic outcome of the DHH students by accommodating the curriculum as per their needs and the areas where more research is required.

Społeczność osób z niepełnosprawnością zmysłu słuchu nie stanowi homogenicznej grupy. Wśród jej członków możemy wyróżnić osoby Głuche (zapis wielką literą sugeruje przynależność do mniejszości kulturowej), głuche, niesłyszące, niedosłyszące, słabosłyszące i ogłuchłe; pochodzące z rodzin osób słyszących lub z rodzin, której członkowie również posiadają dysfunkcję narządu słuchu; posługujące się polskim językiem migowym (PJM), systemem językowo-migowym (SJM), polskim językiem migowym typu "pidgin" (PMP), językiem migowym domowym lub językiem polskim w formie mówionej i/lub pisanej.

Δημοσιεύτηκε στην ιστοσελίδα Ψηφιακή Πύλη Ειδικής Αγωγής www.specialeducation.gr μετά από κρίση σε επιστημονική επιτροπή στις 6/11/2015.

Το παρόν άρθρο πραγματεύεται το θέμα της εκπαιδευτικής ένταξης των κωφών και βαρήκοων ατόμων στη γενική εκπαίδευση. Αρχικά, γίνεται λόγος για την αποσαφήνιση του όρου παιδαγωγική της ένταξης και ο διαχωρισμός της από την παιδαγωγική της ενσωμάτωσης. Επίσης, γίνεται πλήρης ανάλυση των όρων ένταξη και ενσωμάτωση, μέσα από τις απόψεις που διατυπώνουν έλληνες και ξένοι ερευνητές. Στη συνέχεια, γίνεται αναφορά στα πιο συνηθισμένα μοντέλα ένταξης, σε θεωρητικό επίπεδο, καθώς και παρουσιάζεται δείγμα ερευνών που πραγματοποιήθηκαν πάνω σε αυτά τα μοντέλα. Επιπλέον, αναφέρονται στοιχεία τα οποία έχουν προκύψει από έρευνες που έχουν υλοποιηθεί πάνω στην ένταξη κωφών και βαρήκοων μαθητών σε γενικό σχολείο, αλλά και στις επιπτώσεις αυτής της ένταξης. Τέλος, σκιαγραφείται το προφίλ των εκπαιδευτικών, καθώς και η στάση τους απέναντι στο μείζον θέμα της ισότιμης ένταξης των κωφών και βαρήκοων παιδιών στα τυπικά σχολεία.
Λέξεις-κλειδιά: Παιδαγωγική της Ένταξης, παιδαγωγική της ενσωμάτωσης, μοντέλα ένταξης, κωφός/βαρήκοος, στάσεις. 
1

ABSTRACT: This paper addresses literacy from the perspective of deaf education studies 1, analyzing how this concept has reframed understandings about educational practices for deaf students, more specifically, the teaching of reading and writing in Portuguese. Based on three publications, two in the early 2000s related to scientific events in the field and a more recent one from 2018, we intend to show that a dialog was initially constructed between the concept of literacy as social practice and the sociolinguistic concept of bilingualism, which has been re-appropriated as a bilingual education project for the deaf. During this process, specific language practices have been established that have direct implications on how classroom literacy for deaf students has been seen until the present time. RESUMO: Neste artigo tematizamos o conceito de letramento a partir da sua retomada nos estudos sobre educação de surdos 1. Analisamos e argumentamos como esse conceito foi alçado para ressignificar o entendimento das práticas escolares desenvolvidas com alunos surdos, mais especificamente, o ensino da leitura e da escrita em português, num conjunto de textos pertencentes a três publicações-duas do início dos anos 2000, relacionadas a eventos científicos relevantes na área, e outra mais recente, do ano de 2018. Conforme pretendemos mostrar, esses trabalhos constroem, inicialmente, uma interlocução entre o conceito de letramento como prática social e o conceito sociolinguístico de bilinguismo (re)apropriado ao projeto de educação bilíngue para surdos. Nesse processo, instauram-se práticas de língua(gem) específicas a esse contexto, com repercussões diretas no modo como o letramento em sala de aula com alunos surdos vem sendo pensado até os dias de hoje. Palavras-Chave: Letramentos; Educação Linguística; Educação de Surdos; Minorias 1 This discussion began in Nogueira (2015) and has had a direct relationship with the development of the FAPESP research project "Semiotic Repertory and Education of the Deaf: Multilingualism and Multimodality in the Context of Sign Language" (n.2017/20256-0), as well as a current postdoctoral research project entitled "Interfaces entre o português e os repertórios sociossemióticos de aprendizes surdos" (Interfaces between Portuguese and socio-semiotic repertories of deaf learners).

Session Title: Capacitating Creativity via Deaf Writing Pedagogies
Session Leader: Dr. Michael E. Skyer, PhD
Time/Date:  One Three-Hour Workshop Session, Nov 2nd, 12:30-3:30

Session Description: Deaf literacy research about writing is underdeveloped relative to research about deaf readers. In this session, Skyer presents a critical review of the available research on deaf writing pedagogies, including two arguments: one rejects the literature’s pessimism with respect to deaf writers and the other purports to capacitate creativity in deaf writing classrooms. The critical review is used as an impetus for case study and autoethnographic methodologies about writing critical deaf pedagogy. The session closes with an analytic discussion of practical suggestions for deaf writing classroom interactions. Audience interaction is encouraged and questions, discussion, and feedback are welcomed.

Wiele prac badawczych dotyczy rozwoju kompetencji dwujęzycznej dzieci słyszących, lecz stosunkowo niewiele wiemy o możliwościach nauczania i wychowania dwujęzykowego dzieci głuchych. Wprawdzie obecne szkolnictwo specjalne dla głuchych w Polsce preferuje system językowo-migowy (SJM)I w procesie dydaktycznym, nie łączy się to jednak z ideą dwujęzyczności, w której akcentuje się równorzędność dwóch języków, co ma istotne znaczenie dla rozwoju dziecka. Niestety, wielu badaczy, nauczycieli, wychowawców czy też nawet rodziców mylnie uznaje posługiwanie się SJM w procesie komunikacji z dzieckiem głuchym za model dwujęzyczny. Jednym z następstw tego rodzaju podejścia jest marginalizacja polskiego języka migowego (PJM) w wielu szkołach dla głuchych, gdzie dotychczasowa edukacja opierała się na założeniach wychowania jednojęzycznego. Takiemu przedsięwzięciu odpowiada filozofia systemu językowo-migowego bądź metody kombinowanej, dopuszczająca możliwość wykorzystywania jedynie znaków migowych w procesie komunikacji ustnej z głuchymi. Taktyka ta niemająca charakteru edukacji dwujęzycznej, stanowi, metaforycznie rzecz ujmując, ostatnią deską ratunku dla oralizrnu, kładącego nacisk na intensywną terapię mowy dźwiękowej w celu przygotowywania dziecka głuchego do życia w świecie ludzi słyszących.

For decades, research has focused on American Sign Language/English bilingual education for d/Deaf and hard of hearing students whose families used English or ASL. However, a growing population of d/Dhh children come from households where languages other than English (e.g., Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese) are used. In a longitudinal case study, the authors document the K−12 educational pathway of a deaf Latina student.  Anecdotal records, semistructured interviews, assessment data, and document reviews of the participant’s school and clinical records are used to develop the case study. The findings provide the basis for recommendations for future research and for critical factors to consider to improve the education of d/Dhh Multilingual Learners (DMLs), including ensuring appropriate educational placements, addressing early communication and language needs, determining effective instructional techniques and assessments, strengthening the L1 to support L2 learning, and providing students with opportunities to learn their heritage language.

Resumo: Este trabalho focaliza -na tentativa de estabelecer uma relação -os estudos dos multiletramentos e das práticas de comunicação e produção de significados no mundo contemporâneo, na tentativa de colaborar com a reflexão sobre novas (outras) formas de ensino de português como segunda língua (L2) para surdos. A análise de uma situação de interação entre jovens surdos complexifica as relações entre sujeitos e recursos semióticos e linguísticos e, ao ser assim considerada, traz contribuições para que os aspectos culturais e identitários surdos sejam contemplados na participação efetiva desses alunos em práticas de multiletramentos envolvendo estratégias de ensino de português como segunda língua. Palavras-chave: Multiletramentos; Multilinguismo; Multimodalidade; Educação de surdos.

This paper reviews a book “Guidelines for Multilingual Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs” by Kurz et. al (2021). This publication discusses a new prospective in Deaf Education which is Multilingual Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs. The Multilingual Deaf Education program is an update term of bilingual Deaf education. Their main goal is to provide a guideline for Deaf education teacher training programs to prepare teachers in high quality to meet the needs of diverse languages and identities of Deaf students. In the book, the writers provide definitions of some terminologies related to Multilingual Deaf Education program and provides theoretical framework that considered when preparing their guideline. These guidelines offer recommendations for key components that can be parts of multilingual teacher preparation programs. These recommendations can be used to modify an existing program or to develop a new one. Since Saudi Arabia is seeking to move towards inclusive education, this book can be used as a reference for deaf teacher preparation programs so it can be aligned with the newest trends in education.

The Lessons in SignWriting Textbook, written by SignWriting inventor Valerie Sutton, is a 220-page 15-chapter, perfect-bound, paper-cover book written first in 1990, and expanded to a full reference book in 2002, then updated in 2014. The examples in the book are written in American Sign Language, with illustrations and short explanations in English. The 15 chapters teach how to write the movements of any sign language step by step. The 15 chapters are: 1. Introduction to SignWriting, 2. Viewpoints (choosing to write from the Expressive point of view), 3. Handshapes, 4. Contact Symbols, 5. Finger Movement, 6. Straight Arm Movement, 7. Curved Movement, 8. Axial Movement (Arm Rotation and Wrist Movement), 9. Circular Movement, 10. Facial Expressions, 11. Head Movement, 12. Movement of the Body and Torso, 13. Movement Dynamics and Timing, 14. Punctuation for Sign Sentences, 15. Writing Signs & Sign Literature.

ISBN: 978-0-914336-55-6

In communities with an increased prevalence of hereditary deafness, social, and linguistic adaptations are found in response. Aulbers (1959) describes a high prevalence of deafness in a fishing village on the Dutch coast: Katwijk aan Zee. This article aims to assess the current prevalence of deafness in Katwijk, as well as the current sign language situation there. To this end, data were collected from various sources, including governmental studies on public health, archives, a genealogical database and interviews with deaf inhabitants of Katwijk. The various types of data confirm the presence of a higher prevalence of deafness in Katwijk that continues to date. Linguistic and anthropological research is needed to establish to what extent this has affected the experience and position of deaf people and their sign language usage in Katwijk.

This paper looks at the provisions for deaf students in mainstream secondary schools in Singapore and the nature of support provided by the Ministry of Education through resource teachers. Issues of sustainability and continuity of such a programme are discussed. It is concluded that support in Singapore is weak, unstructured and unsustainable if the purpose and value of such a programme is not carefully considered as part of broader education policy for deaf students in Singapore.

La evolución de la educación de los sordos en Chile, ha transitado por distintas etapas y cada una de ellas ha impactado en la calidad de vida de las personas sordas. Este estudio pretende hacer una revisión de estos procesos y relevar la reflexión acerca de la situación actual de la población sorda en Chile desde los ámbitos educativo, lingüístico y social. Las conclusiones del estudio señalan los desafíos pendientes en materia de integración de las personas sordas y expone los grandes avances en calidad de vida y derechos civiles que se han producido en los últimos 15 años.

RD HOBBS reviews "Talking Hands" by Margalit Fox.
Fox, M. (2007). Talking hands; What Sign Language Reveals About the Mind. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
A team of researchers descend on a village in southern Israel where a Bedouin tribe has 4% deaf population because of the custom of cousins marrying one another. The "organically grown" language of the deaf is an opportunity for linguists to study are relatively new language that should give clues as to how languages come to be. Half of the book is devoted as a narrative of the linguists visiting, recording, photographing, and filming families in their homes, and the other half of the book as intermittent chapters discuss language, linguistics, language in the brain, grammar, and language evolution. Comparisons are drawn between Sign languages, sign language communities, grammars, and more.

The purpose of the article is to present important strategies used in early intervention for children with hearing impairments. With reference to the paradigm of family-focused intervention, the role of specialists is discussed – with emphasis on its autonomy – as well as their cooperation with the family. The most important recent scientific research on early intervention for children with hearing impairments is pointed to. The impact of technological changes on child language, social and cognitive development is taken into consideration.

RD Hobbs Book Review
Fox, M. (2007). Talking Hands. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
A team of researchers descend on a village in Southern Israel inhabited by a Bedouin tribe with 4% deaf population due to cousins marrying. The normal statistic for deaf population is one out of 1,000 to one out of 10,000, not four out of 100. Having deaf family members in the village is normal. Deaf children do not grow up in isolation. As a result, a deaf language organically evolved. The more dependable way of observing the evolved language is to observe a deaf child with his hearing sibling. The reason is that deaf children go to school and learn Israeli Sign language. So, when two deaf children get together from the village, their sign language will be mixed with Village sign and Israeli sign. Hearing children learn Village sign from deaf relatives at home and not in school, so they are unfamiliar with Israeli sign language. Chapters in Fox (2007) alternate between observations of Village Bedouins using Village sign and chapters on language and linguistics. The author tells of a Dublin School for the deaf that segregate boys from girls. As a result of the segregation, 70% of the signs are different. The authors explain that before Sandinistas taking power, deaf children grew up in isolation, so they were language impaired for the rest of their lives - having missed the threshold of time to learn a language. After the Sandinistas took power, education improved and deaf children attended school. Linguists report that the older children in the first cohort never learned Nicaragua Sign Language (NSL) adequately, but in the second cohort, children under age 7 enriched the rudimentary "language" they were given to create a bonafide language. Researchers were informed by other examples of Sign language. Thus, Fox (2007) takes on the roles of neurolinguists and psycholinguists in that they explain language in the brain, but also sociolinguists in that they explain deaf language in society as well as in culture and sub-cultures.

The transition to adulthood of young people with special educational needs (SEN) has been a recent government policy focus. However, little is known of d/Deaf young peoples’ experiences of transition or statutory transition planning as required by the SEN Code of Practice (2001).
Using semi-structured and auto-driven photo-elicitation interviews, the transitional experiences of eight mainstream educated young d/Deaf people, aged between late teens to mid-twenties, were examined through a Bourdieusian framework. Visual methods were chosen to employ the visual nature of the d/Deaf young people’s experience, and facilitate communication within the interviews. Nine professionals working with d/Deaf young people participated in semi-structured interviews exploring their experiences of transition planning policy and practice. Critical Discourse Analysis was used on relevant policy documents to provide context and to critique the models of disability used.
Findings show that transition to adulthood was largely unplanned and protracted for d/Deaf young people. Only two remembered participating in statutory transition planning, and only one considered it beneficial. All were critical of support offered by professionals, which failed to meet their needs. They relied instead on support from family and friends. Professionals reported that transition planning policies were unsuitable for d/Deaf young people and transition plans were often not apparent for young people they encountered.
The auto-driven photo-elicitation interviews were a partial success, aiding communication in the interview and offering additional insights into participants’ transitional experiences. However, only half the young people completed a photo-elicitation interview, possibly because this required an additional interview.
Conclusions were that the model of disability used in transition policy does not reflect the needs of young d/Deaf people. d/Deaf people should not be treated identically as people with other disabilities. The specific needs of d/Deaf people should be emphasised, such as language access and the realisation of a positive d/Deaf identity.

The present study aims at identifying the needs of the teachers of visually impaired students in Amman city. For this end, the researchers have developed a special tool which consists of 31 statements. The tool has been validated by a group of professionals from the University of Jordan and World Islamic University. The liability of the tool was calculated by using (Cronbach’s, alpha=0.953). The sample has been collected from some governmental and no governmental schools which deliver special education services to students with visual impairment. The community research comprises (100) teachers of both sexes, from 20 schools. Sixty participants (60) have been chosen to a chief the purpose of the study. The participants had been chosen according to the following criteria; teach at least one visual impaired or blind student, have an experience at least 6 months. For the purpose of this study, the researchers have tested the assumption. Through using SPSS program (Version 21). A suitable statistical approaches (Mean, SD Percentages; t-test; Chronback alpha test). ANOVA, Ancova and post comparative have been used to analysis the data.
The results of the study revealed the need for training in braille writing and reading, communication skills for the visually impaired teachers (mean=2.07/4) which is the lowest and for all statements was (mean=2.81/4) with percentage of 70.28%. Which consider moderate according the scale? However the statement which indicated the need for early intervention has a (Mean=3.52) which was the highest of all  scale items. Also the study indicates no relation between demographic variable (sex; education; experience; class level) and training needs (sig 0.677, 0.094, 0.434, 0.322; respectively) but there is a significant difference (*.003) due to teachers' characteristics. In addition, when  Scheffe’s test for post Hoc comparison (*0.76) the results indicate presence of  significant differences in quality and quantity of training needs of the teachers of the visually impaired students relate to teachers' characteristics toward the sighted teachers of visually impaired students (mean=3.06). The results of Scheffe’s test for Post Hoc comparison (*0.89) also indicate a presence of significant, a difference in the teachers of the visually impaired student between the blind and partially sighted teachers in favor of partially sighted teachers (mean=3.19).

La Atención Temprana (AT) tiene como objetivo principal dar respuesta a las necesidades transitorias o permanentes de la población infantil durante la etapa de 0-6 años. Tal y como consta en el Libro Blanco, el objetivo principal se orienta a la prevención, por lo que la AT se dirige fundamentalmente a quienes presentan el riesgo de padecer trastornos de desarrollo. Puesto que el entorno lingüístico en el que crecen los niños sordos no siempre es en lengua de signos o señas, parece especialmente importante conocer los indicadores del desarrollo evolutivo de estos niños con el fin de comprobar que las capacidades y habilidades, que, en las diferentes etapas del desarrollo, el niño sordo está adquiriendo avanzan adecuadamente. Partiendo de la experiencia en el programa de AT para una niña sorda en la etapa 12-24 meses, su familia oyente y la escuela infantil delimitaremos la escala lingüística en LSE que nos servirá de indicadores evolutivos de los niños sordos. Nuestro estudio se articula en tres apartados ¿qué es la atención temprana?, ¿cuáles son los indicadores del desarrollo evolutivo? y ¿es la LSE un buen indicador del desarrollo evolutivo de los niños sordos?

The linguistic documentation of sign languages sometimes present a challenge with respect to the question of who to involve in the documentation process. This paper presents a way of meeting this challenge in the linguistic documentation of an endangered sign language. In documenting Adamorobe Sign Language (AdaSL), a village sign language in Ghana, the research team and the local signers, work together; each group providing their expertise in the data collection and annotation. The linguistic research team provides the linguistic insight and the local signers provide the language data, sociolinguistic information and contribute to data annotation. The whole team works on creating language materials, for example a sign database and resources for teaching, which will be made available online when the project is completed. The paper also discusses the need for language documentation in Adamorobe to preserve the endangered sign language from possible extinction. Education and empowerment of deaf societies are enlisted as means to bridge the gap between deaf and hearing research groups and ultimately protect village sign languages.