Processing Orthographic Structure: Associations Between Print and Fingerspelling

世纪以来，教育工作者和研究人员一直试图确定失聪儿童学习阅读的深度。聋哑儿童在学习读写一种他们不会说也听不到的语言方面处于独特的地位。然而，与听力正常的人不同，聋人以两种形式体验英语正字法：印刷文本和手指拼写，其中每个字母都由不同的手结构表示。这个项目调查是否可以使用手指拼写作为一个额外的代码，以保留在内存中的英语打印和打印或手指拼写的单词是否链接到语音（语音为基础的表示）。通过识别阅读打印和“阅读”指法之间的相似性和差异，可以确定如何最有效地使用指法在阅读教学。该项目的另一个目的是利用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）的数据来识别支持聋人阅读者阅读指纹和手指拼写的大脑区域。具体来说，该项目将a）检查聋人阅读英语单词时是否激活ASL符号，B）评估聋人阅读回路内的功能连接，以及c）确定耳聋，手语习得和/或阅读技能对大脑解剖结构的影响。最后，该项目的一个平行目标是增加聋人在科学领域的代表性，方法是让聋人研究人员参与该项目，并为聋人学生提供一个获得研究经验的无障碍环境。

For over a century educators and researchers have been trying to determine how profoundly deaf children learn to read. Deaf children are in the unique position of learning to read and write a language that they do not speak and cannot hear. Unlike people who can hear, though, deaf people experience English orthography in two forms: as printed text and as fingerspelling, in which each alphabetic letter is represented by a distinct hand configuration. This project investigates whether fingerspelling can be used as an additional code for retaining English print in memory and whether printed or fingerspelled words are linked to phonology (speech-based representations). By identifying the similarities and differences between reading print and "reading" fingerspelling, one can identify how fingerspelling might be most effectively used in reading instruction. Another aim of the project is to use data from functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to identify the brain areas that support the reading of print and fingerspelling for deaf readers. Specifically, the project will a) examine whether ASL signs are activated when deaf adults read English words, b) assess functional connectivity within the reading circuit for deaf signers, and c) identify the effects of deafness, acquisition of a sign language, and/or reading skill on brain anatomy. Finally, a parallel aim of the project is to increase the representation of deaf people in science by including deaf researchers on the project and by providing an accessible environment for deaf students to gain research experience.