New research has begun at City University and the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL), focussing on Specific Language Impairment (SLI) in deaf children who use sign language.
 
SLI is a diagnosis used by Speech and Language Therapists for an individual who has a language disorder which prevents them from learning language at the same rate as their peers. This difficulty is specific to learning language and is not just part of a general learning problem.
 
Deaf children with SLI will have problems with language over and above their deafness or late diagnosis.  So a deaf child in a signing environment at home or school may be slower to pick up sign language compared with their deaf peers.

The research aims to describe SLI in deaf signing children and to develop tests to identify deaf children with language impairments. Researchers will then work with deaf and hearing professionals in order to create interventions for conducting language therapy with this group.  
 
More information about this project can be found on the DCAL website (external link, opens new browser window).