Private Sign & Literacy Development in Preschoolers with Hearing Loss

This study examined private sign in two groups of preschoolers with hearing loss: those rated most advanced and least advanced in literacy development. Private sign involves signing to oneself without intent to communicate meaning to others. Teachers and parents/primary caregivers were surveyed to obtain information related to the use of private sign in these two groups. Results indicated that the majority of children with signing skills in both groups exhibited private sign in classroom and home contexts. Teachers noted a statistically significantly higher incidence of private sign behavior in the most advanced group while these children were looking at books, playing alone, and writing or drawing. Results from the parents/caregivers showed that more of the least advanced children used private sign immediately after learning a new linguistic unit, and that the most advanced group used more private sign. These findings show that private sign is used among preschoolers with hearing loss who have signing skills. Directions for future research are suggested.