Gallaudet Revolution: Discoveries and Research in Sign Language

BY MELISSA HERZIG, MELISSA MALZKUHN, CLIFTON LANGDON, AND TAWNY HOLMES

Exciting discoveries in cognitive, behavior, and neuroscience research from Gallaudet University researchers and around the world are showing us a new way of understanding the human brain and how it uses language. This revolution was made possible by the training of critical thinkers, innovators, and change makers at Gallaudet, which has invested in groundbreaking scientific research on the nature of the human brain. The past 30 years of cognitive neuroscience have revolutionized our understanding of the brain, and discoveries about signed languages in the brain are no exception. Scientists at Gallaudet and around the world have revealed that the human brain is open to learning and using signed and spoken languages in the same way.

Some of the discoveries are:

• Early and consistent exposure to ASL and English (by both hearing or deaf parents) helps with language development and reading skills; • Sign language activates the same area in the brain as spoken language, and sign language is a biological necessity for a healthy cognition and brain development; and

• C hildren learning both ASL and English receive the same benefits as other bilinguals.

Professor Laura-Ann Petitto (principal investigator, Keck and NSF-INSPIRE grants) and baby interact with the Robot Avatar thermal-Enhanced (RAVE) language learning tool prototype.

These discoveries become the foundation to how we plan, design, and implement educational strategies, tools, and resources that improve our deaf children’s education.

The NAD and the Deaf communities have a long and rich history of advocacy for the right to use and learn signed languages. As advocates have found, research and data is often key to convincing decision makers, legislators, and others who disagree with them. Research by Gallaudet University’s Research Labs in Visual Language and Visual Learning Center (VL2) is providing us with evidence-based scientific findings that show signed languages (just like spoken language) support achievement of typical developmental milestones across a wide range of areas (language, reading, math, social emotional skills, and more).

What does this mean? We know that parents nurture their child by feeding, loving, and talking to them. As a result, the child will thrive because of the nurturing love, care, and the language received. Thanks to the work of the VL2 center, we now have scientific evidence that shows that it is exactly the same for all deaf children. They need basics to thrive: love, care, food, and access to visual language, sign language.

Scientific evidence is the only first part of building data that support our communities’ passion to ensuring quality access to language and education for all deaf children. Gallaudet is committed to translating this scientific evidence into real-world applications to benefit deaf children, their families and educators every single day! Nowadays, when you walk into a family’s home or a classroom, you may see young children interacting with bilingual reading apps. This is our definition of what the reading experience for deaf children in the 21st century is,

Melissa Malzkuhn creates nursery rhymes with a virtual human through motion capture.

We owe the success of our Deaf communities to our trailblazers who fought, advocated, and made it possible for us to thrive today.

and it is the first ever of its kind, which makes it groundbreaking work. To support and contribute to a literacy rich classroom experience, lessons plans and activity sheets have been developed, mapping the learning process for our young and emerging readers.

Trailblazing a path to the future, Gallaudet is working on brand-new language learning tools for young infants that include robots, virtual human and animated avatars, using cutting-edge motion capture technology. The world’s only assessment designed for deaf children is also housed at Gallaudet—known as the Visual Communication and Sign Language Checklist. Those tools are available to everyone in the community, for your deaf, hard of hearing or hearing children or students!

The next time you visit Gallaudet University, peek around the corner on the 6th Street side of campus, known as Creativity Way. That’s where the next level of real-world applications will be happening. Innovation and evidence are here to support the usage of sign language with our deaf children— and we will continue to advance knowledge. Gallaudet University is proud to provide an everexpanding pool of evidence, resources and training

In the past decade, Gallaudet has led innovation in:

• R obotic/artificial intelligence interactions, changing the way we look at accessible communications;

• T he world’s first bilingual storybook apps, changing the way how we look at the reading experience for visual learners;

• R obot and avatar interactive systems, changing the lives of at-risk infants for language deprivation, to language-rich environments;

• Sig n language assessment toolkits, advancing our ability to better test and measure deaf children’s academic success;

• N ew disciplines in DeafSpace, changing the way we look at architecture;

• C reating academic programs focused on preparing students in early language advocacy, both undergraduate and graduate level;

• A new PhD program in Educational Neuroscience, changing how we understand the human brain, through the Deaf perspective, and how they learn;

• En trepreneurship programs, bringing brilliant Deaf innovators to self-defining careers, changing society with diverse perspectives; and

• E ducational initiatives and global leadership training programs focusing on sustainable development goals that ensures all deaf children receive quality education.

to its community of alumni all over the world who are working tirelessly to make sure deaf children are provided with language and education. History has shown us that Deaf people have always shared vital ideas, inventions, solutions, perspectives, and experiences, and we continue to do so in science. Our culture, literature, sign language, our visual and tactile way of being, is our gift to the world. We owe the success of our Deaf communities to our trailblazers who fought, advocated, and made it possible for us to thrive today. And we will make tomorrow better for our children.

For more information, visit VL2.gallaudet.edu.

Dr. Melissa Herzig is the Research and Education Translation Manager in the Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2) Science of Learning Center and the Assistant Director of the PHD in Educational Neuroscience program.

Dr. Clifton Langdon is an Assistant Professor in the PhD in Educational Neuroscience Program at Gallaudet University and the Director of the Language & Educational Neuroscience Laboratory.

Melissa Malzkuhn is the founder and creative director of Motion Light Lab, a space where creative literature intersects with digital technology to create immersive learning experiences.

Tawny Holmes is the Education Policy Counsel at the NAD.