TREATMENT OF ALLERGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS

Not Available The purpose of the proposed Phase I project is to determine the feasibility of designing a video-based beginning Sign Language course for children, incorporating the effective instructional concepts and strategies reflected in the Ready! Set! Sign!! instructional product for adult learners produced through a U.S. Department of Education SBIR Phase II award. The efforts to determine the feasibility of a modified Ready! Set! Sign!! Sign Language course of instruction for hearing children is intended to directly address the problem of the poor communication between deaf and hard-of-hearing children and the hearing children with whom they come in contact with, both in mainstreamed school settings and in the community in general. The paucity of Sign Language instructional products targeting young hearing children as beginning signers emphasizes the importance of investigating the feasibility of creating effective Sign Language instruction for young hearing children. The instructional prototypes to be investigated in this Phase I feasibility study are based on research studies demonstrating the effectiveness of using the iconic characteristics of signs as a major instructional teaching tool. Of particular interest are studies suggesting iconicity as an effective teaching tool whether the learner is a first-grader or a college student.