For over a century educators and researchers have been trying to determine how profoundly deaf children learn to read. Deaf children are in the unique position of learning to read and write a language that they do not speak and cannot hear. Unlike people who can hear, deaf people experience English orthography in two forms: as printed text and as fingerspelling, in which each alphabetic letter is represented by a distinct hand configuration.
This project investigates one possible route that deaf readers may utilize to develop mappings between letters and sounds: the fingerspelling system of American Sign Language (ASL). By identifying the similarities and differences between reading print and "reading" fingerspelling, one can identify how fingerspelling might be most effectively used in reading instruction. Another aim of the project is to use functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to investigate the brain areas that support the reading of print and fingerspelling by deaf readers. Of particular interest is whether the so-called "Visual Word Form Area" is activated for fingerspelling and whether deaf readers use the same neural circuits for reading as people who can hear. This project will compare the brain areas that are activated when reading words for deaf adults, for hearing adults who do not know ASL, and for hearing people who are bilingual in ASL and English. Finally, a parallel aim of the project is to increase the representation of deaf people in science by including deaf research assistants on the project and providing an accessible environment for deaf students to gain research experience.
Deaf people experience English orthography in two forms: as printed text and as fingerspelling (each alphabetic letter is represented by a distinct hand configuration). This project investigated the structural correspondences and reading strategies that might be common to fingerspelled and printed words. Many studies have shown that printed words are not read as simple linear strings of letters but are parsed ("divided") into larger units. Similarly, fingerspelled words are also not read (perceived) as strings of letters, but are divided into larger chunks. This project investigated whether deaf and hearing readers use the same parsing strategy for reading printed words and whether the strategies for parsing printed words transfer to fingerspelled words. The project also investigated whether fingerspelling ability is related to reading skill for deaf signers. Using standard psycholinguistic techniques, we discovered that both deaf and hearing adults read words better when words are divided using orthographic syllable structure rather than phonological syllable structure. Further, we discovered that different segmentation ("dividing") strategies are preferred when deaf individuals read printed vs. fingerspelled words. Unlike printed words, fingerspelled words are recognized more accurately when the words are divided at the phonological syllable boundary. We suggest that English mouthings (i.e., silently mouthing an English word or part of the English word) that co-occur with fingerspelled words promote a phonological segmentation preference. Crucially, fingerspelling ability was significantly correlated with reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. This pattern of results indicates that the association between print and fingerspelling for adult deaf readers is not based on shared segmentation strategies. Rather, we suggest that both good readers and good fingerspellers have established strong representations of English and that fingerspelling may aid in the development and maintenance of English vocabulary. Deafness has a substantial impact on the ability of students to gain access to academic and scientific careers, and this project actively promoted the participation of deaf people in research. The principal investigator has long been committed to improving opportunities for deaf students by providing a research environment accessible to them and training that facilitates their entrance into scientific fields. In addition, the results of the project may help to improve reading instruction for deaf children because the findings indicate that fingerspelling, which is currently used in many deaf education classrooms, may provide an important link to print and English literacy development.
