Conceptual Sign Language Acquisition by Spanish-Speaking Parents of Hearing-Impaired Children

Communication between monolingual Spanish-speaking families and their profoundly deaf children is limited when the parents do not have access to the sign language system being acquired by their children in the public schools. This article describes a trilingual (Spanish, English, and Sign Language) approach to conceptual Sign Language acquisition for monolingual Spanish-speaking parents of deaf children. The Spanish speakers participated in a 2-year televised trilingual class. Competence in conceptual Sign Language communication was achieved by participants who viewed the program regularly. In addition, positive attitudinal changes were noted among the participants—in general and specifically with regard to hearing loss and communication with their deaf child.