Processing Orthographic Structure: Associations Between Print and Fingerspelling

一个多世纪以来，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。失聪儿童在学习阅读和书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，与正常人不同的是，聋人的英语正字法有两种形式：印刷文本和手指拼写，其中每个字母都由不同的手形表示。这个项目研究了手指拼写是否可以作为一种额外的代码来保留记忆中的英语印刷，以及印刷或手指拼写的单词是否与音韵学（基于语音的表征）有关。通过识别阅读印刷品和“阅读”指法拼写之间的异同，人们可以确定如何在阅读教学中最有效地使用指法拼写。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印刷品和拼写的大脑区域。具体来说，该项目将a)检查当聋人阅读英语单词时，美国手语是否被激活，b)评估聋人手语阅读回路中的功能连接，以及c)确定耳聋、手语习得和/或阅读技能对大脑解剖的影响。最后，该项目的另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的研究，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.