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The development of visual attention to signed language in deaf children from deaf and hearing families
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THE DEVELOPMENT OF VISUAL ATTENTION TO SIGNED LANGUAGE IN DEAF CHILDREN FROM DEAF AND HEARING FAMILIES M. Virginia Swisher Department of Instruction and Learning University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15260 The consistent visual attention to signed communication characteristic of deaf adults must be developed over time by young deaf children. However, the majority of deaf children are born to hearing parents unaccustomed to communication in the visual mode, who often have difficulty adjusting their communication about present objects to allow the child time to attend visually both to objects and to communication about them. Thepaper will focus on the development of consistency of visual attention to signed utterances in 6 children identified before 9 months of age, 3 from hearing families, and 3 from deaf families. Children were videotaped at 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of age interacting with their mothers in a free play situation. Mothers’ signed utterances will be coded in relation to the consistency of children’s visual attention, and analysis will focus on the development over time in consistency of the child’s gaze to signed language, the amount of signed input provided by the mother with and without the child’s visual attention; and the relation of consistency of gaze to caregivers’ communication strategies.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VISUAL ATTENTION TO SIGNED LANGUAGE IN DEAF CHILDREN FROM DEAF AND HEARING FAMILIES M. Virginia Swisher Department of Instruction and Learning University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15260 The consistent visual attention to signed communication characteristic of deaf adults must be developed over time by young deaf children. However, the majority of deaf children are born to hearing parents unaccustomed to communication in the visual mode, who often have difficulty adjusting their communication about present objects to allow the child time to attend visually both to objects and to communication about them. Thepaper will focus on the development of consistency of visual attention to signed utterances in 6 children identified before 9 months of age, 3 from hearing families, and 3 from deaf families. Children were videotaped at 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of age interacting with their mothers in a free play situation. Mothers’ signed utterances will be coded in relation to the consistency of children’s visual attention, and analysis will focus on the development over time in consistency of the child’s gaze to signed language, the amount of signed input provided by the mother with and without the child’s visual attention; and the relation of consistency of gaze to caregivers’ communication strategies.