American Sign Language/
Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing

Online Resources

American Sign Language Classes Online

Language and Literacy Development

  • Hands Land

    • http://www.handsland.com/

    • Rhymes and Songs have been shown to be an excellent learning tool for language development. Handsland is an educational tool for children learning ASL.

  • Children Videos and Songs on Youtube

  • Children’s Books in ASL

    • The Rocky Mountain School for the Deaf Toddler Program website has many children’s books translated into American Sign Language. I highly recommend this to help your child not only learn signs but how to understand and tell stories in fluent ASL.

    • Rocky Mountain Deaf School Toddler Program Books

Research Based information about American Sign Language and Bilingualism

  • Visual Language Parents Package : A caregiver package packed with information regarding the benefits of early visual language acquisition and bilingualism for families with deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

    • Research Briefs: A collection of research summaries across various topics including - ASL/English Bilingual Education, ASL and Cochlear Implant Implications, Reading Research, Eye Gaze and Joint-Attention.

  • Language First -

    • An organization that aims to educate and raise awareness of ASL/English Bilingualism and the importance of first language foundation for Deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) children.

    • This website also has many resources

Community Resources

Research Opportunities

  • Healthy Cognitive Development

    • Matt Hall, PhD, at the University of Connecticut is conducting research to determine how to best develop healthy cognitive development (memory, learning, executive functioning) in deaf children whether they’re acquiring spoken English with a Cochlear Implant, learning ASL, or both.

    • braingamesresearch.uconn.edu/#

Signed and produced by Justin Jackerson Mayberry, Rachel (1998) The critical period for language acquisition and the deaf child's language comprehension: A p...