Deaf Children: Developmental Perspectives aims to identify new areas of research, evaluation, and application related to deafness. The book discusses the development of deaf children; the methodological issues in research with deaf children; and the structural properties of American sign language. The text also describes the acquisition of signed and spoken language; speculations concerning deafness and learning to read; future prospects in language and communication for the congenitally deaf. The role of vision in language acquisition by deaf children; research and clinical issues on impulse control in deaf children; and the effects of deafness on childhood development are also considered. The book further tackles the education implications of research and theory with the deaf; developmental perspectives on the experiential deficiencies of deaf children; and the development of the deaf individual and the deaf community. Scholars interested in more general issues within disciplines such as sociology, developmental psychology, linguistics, psycholinguistics, experimental psychology, communication, clinical psychology, psychiatry, and education will find the text invaluable.

List of Contributors Preface I Introduction 1 The Development of Deaf Children: An Overview of Issues Introduction Individual Differences in Deafness Family Environments Linguistic Environments Educational Environments Summary References 2 The "Natural History" of a Research Project: An Illustration of Methodological Issues in Research with Deaf Children Criteria and Procedures for Recruitment of Subjects Selection of Matching or Comparison Groups Other Potential Variables for the Selection of Subjects Summary and Conclusions References II Linguistic Issues 3 Structural Properties of American Sign Language Basic Issues in the Study of Sign Language On Pantomime and Signs Historical Change in American Sign Language On the Internal Structure of Signs: Evidence from the Experimental Study of Short-Term Memory Slips of the Hand Grammatical Processes Summary References 4 The Acquisition of Signed and Spoken Language Traditional Transmission of Ameslan: Deaf Children of Deaf Parents Connie's Children The Process of Learning Bimodal Language First Signs Word-Sign Order End of Words-Signs Perceptual Salience and Other Morphemes Summary References Some Speculations Concerning Deafness and Learning To Read Locus of the Problem Cognitive Factors Some Aspects of Linguistic Structure Relevant to Reading A Prospectus for One Stage in Reading Development Summary References 6 Future Prospects in Language and Communication for the Congenitally Deaf The Early Acquisition of Language An Ideal Written Language Cross-Modality Transformation Rules and Supplementary Communication Devices Summary an d Conclusions References 7 On The Role of Vision in Language Acquisition by Deaf Children Vision as a Channel for Language Acquisition Manual Signing The Visual Representation of Speech Reading ReferencesIII Social Development 8 Impulse Control in Deaf Children: Research and Clinical Issues Research on Impulse Control in Deaf Children: A Review Etiology of Poor Impulse Control in Deaf People Theoretical Alternatives Parental Hearing Status: Implications for Impulse Control Implications for Intervention References 9 The Effects of Deafness on Childhood Development: An Eriksonian Perspective Infancy: The Development of Trust Early Childhood: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt Later Childhood: Initiative versus Guilt Summary References IV Educational and Cultural Contexts 10 Current Research and Theory with the Deaf: Educational Implications The Research to Application Process Contributions of Ethology Relationship of Thought, Language, and Deafness Manual Communication, Sign Language, and Total Communication Summary References 11 Developmental Perspectives on the Experiential Deficiencies of Deaf Children A Piagetian Perspective on Experiential Deficiencies The Deaf Childs Environment Summary and Conclusions References 12 The Development of the Deaf Individual and the Deaf Community Institutional Control Family Dynamics and Social Interaction Individual Functioning Conclusion ReferencesAuthor Index Subject Index