• Students
  • Alumni
  • Faculty
  • Staff
  • Community
  • QUICK LINKS
  • DIRECTORY
  • APPLY
  • GIVE
  • RENT
Hunter College
About
  • Overview
  • Focus on Spring
  • Mission
  • Strategic Plan
  • Leadership
  • Campus Information
  • Contact Us
Academics
  • Approach
  • Provost
  • Schools
  • Majors
  • Honors & Scholars
  • Education Abroad
  • Advising
  • Research & Creative Works
  • Course Catalogs
  • Accreditation
Admissions
  • Overview
  • Undergraduate
  • Graduate
  • Course Catalogs
Student Life
  • Clubs & Organizations
  • Residence Life
  • Athletics
  • Dining On Campus
  • Community
  • Events
  • News
  • Libraries
Hunter College Schools
  • Arts & Sciences
  • Education
  • Health Professions
  • Urban Public Health
  • Nursing
  • Silberman School of Social Work
More Schools
  • Hunter College Campus Schools
  • Hunter College Continuing Education
  • Libraries
  • Students
  • Alumni
  • Faculty
  • Staff
  • Community
  • Events
  • News
  • APPLY
  • GIVE
  • RENT
  • QUICK LINKS
  • DIRECTORY

Read Hunter’s Focus on Spring plan.

News / Hunter Headlines /

Should Hearing Parents Learn Sign Language Alongside Their Child?

May 14, 2020
Share
ASL

Hunter’s Elaine Gale, coordinator of the School of Education’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program, is one of three recipients of a $2,956,801 five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Most deaf children are born to hearing parents, and many believe that a parent’s unfamiliarity with American Sign Language can slow a child’s linguistic, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Some, including many parents and educators, are concerned that hearing parents may not be able to learn sign language well enough or fast enough to benefit a deaf child, and that a parent’s poor use of American Sign Language will harm a child rather than help. Until now, little research has been done to confirm or refute these beliefs.

Now, working with two other experts, Professor Gale is conducting that crucial research. With her co-Lead Investigator Deborah Chen Pichler of Gallaudet University and Principal Investigator Diane Lillo-Martin of the University of Connecticut, she is studying the progress of young children whose parents learn American Sign Language right alongside them. The children in the study are enrolled in early-childhood education programs for the deaf.

“There’s a pressing need to confront the conventional wisdom,” Professor Gale says, “because it may prevent parents from pursuing ASL as an option for their deaf and hard-of-hearing children.”

LEARN ABOUT RESEARCH

READ
stories about innovation
EXPLORE
our research efforts
GIVE
to support our college
PreviousNext

Office of Communications
for media information and more
student watching online event
Hunter on Demand

Enjoy virtual lectures, discussions and readings by members of Hunter’s distinguished faculty.

Join Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flickr

NEWS SPOTLIGHT

February 11, 2021
Hunter’s Colum McCann Wins 2020 National Jewish Book Award for Fiction

With “Apeirogon,” McCann, a Distinguished Lecturer of Creative Writing, becomes the second Hunter professor to have won this prestigious prize.

January 25, 2021
Ruth Finkelstein's Daily News Op-Ed: “Seniors, Vaccines and Fairness”

The Rose Dobrof Director for Hunter’s Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging says vaccine distribution must address health disparities among older adults.

See All Spotlight News

EVENTS CALENDAR

Mar 1, 2021
Ranked Choice Voting: How it Works and What it Means

Roosevelt House is pleased to present a live Zoom forum on Ranked Choice Voting, the new voting system for New York City’s primary elections in ...

Mar 2, 2021
The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal ...

Roosevelt House is pleased to present a live Zoom discussion of The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage by ...

See All Featured Events

HUNTER

Hunter College
695 Park Ave NY, NY 10065
212-772-4000

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flickr
  • ABOUT
  • ACADEMICS
  • ADMISSIONS
  • EVENTS
  • NEWS
Hunter College Schools
  • Arts & Sciences
  • Education
  • Health Professions
  • Urban Public Health
  • Nursing
  • Silberman School of Social Work
  • Arts & Sciences
  • Education
  • Health Professions
  • Urban Public Health
  • Nursing
  • Silberman School of Social Work
Our Other Schools
  • Hunter College Campus Schools
  • Hunter College Continuing Education
  • Hunter College Campus Schools
  • Hunter College Continuing Education
Hunter College Libraries
More Info
  • Bookstore
  • Contact Us & Feedback
  • Jobs
  • Public Safety
  • Roosevelt House
  • Student Housing
  • Space Rentals
  • Bookstore
  • Contact Us & Feedback
  • Jobs
  • Public Safety
  • Roosevelt House
  • Student Housing
  • Space Rentals
Public Information
  • Annual Security Report
  • Consumer Information
  • Covid-19 Updates
  • CUNY Tobacco Policy
  • Enough is Enough
  • Annual Security Report
  • Consumer Information
  • Covid-19 Updates
  • CUNY Tobacco Policy
  • Enough is Enough
CUNY
  • © 2021 Hunter College
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy