RAPID: Navigating Social Distancing with DeafBlind Children: Protactile Language Acquisition in an Online Learning Environment

实行社交距离的一揽子指令虽然对减缓COVID-19的传播至关重要，但没有考虑到弱势群体，如聋哑儿童，他们面临社会孤立和缺乏关键语言接触的风险。COVID-19迫切需要创新和有效的包容性远程学习模式。该项目将找到支持下一学年语言习得和认知发展的方法，而不会增加流行病风险。现在进行这项研究可以扩大我们对语言的理解，同时也为受社交距离影响不成比例的人群建立教育模式。在过去的十年里，美国的成年聋哑人群体开始通过相互的触觉渠道直接相互交流，这种做法被称为“protactile”。这些做法正在导致一个新兴的语法系统，尚未获得任何聋哑儿童。该项目通过结合视频技术、为该项目设计的可穿戴触觉设备和儿童之家的沟通促进者，向一群聋哑儿童介绍熟练的触觉签名者。这种混合方法将作为远程学习环境进行评估，以使盲聋儿童能够在与减缓COVID-19传播一致的距离上继续学习。这种方法将能够分析的影响，收购过程中的protactile语言是从DeafBlind成人签名，谁知道美国手语前protactile语言，到DeafBlind儿童，谁收购protactile语言作为第一语言。据预测，盲聋儿童将遵循第一语言习得的一般过程，并将比具有成分形态的动词更早地开发核心词汇，从而与成人手语者所走的道路不同，在创建核心词汇之前创建具有成分形态的形式。研究还预测，儿童创造的词汇形式将比成人预触觉签署者创造的形式更广泛地遵循预触觉语音原则，而成人预触觉签署者创造的形式对预触觉语音原则的应用受到更多限制。如果得到证实，研究结果将显示聋盲儿童如何在社交距离的条件下获得和扩展语言，从而为促进弱势群体的教育提供一种模式，同时继续减缓COVID-19的传播。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Blanket directives to practice social distancing, while crucial to slowing the spread of COVID-19, do not take into account vulnerable populations such as DeafBlind children, who are at risk for social isolation and lack of critical language exposure. COVID-19 creates an immediate need for innovative and effective models of inclusive distance learning. This project will find ways to support language acquisition and cognitive development for the coming school year without increasing epidemiological risk. Conducting this research now stands to broaden our understanding of language, while also establishing models for education in populations that are disproportionately impacted by social distancing. Over the past decade, groups of DeafBlind adults in the United States began communicating directly with one another via reciprocal, tactile channels—a practice known as "protactile". These practices are leading to an emergent grammatical system that has yet to be acquired by any DeafBlind children. This project introduces a cohort of DeafBlind children to skilled protactile signers by combining video technology, a wearable haptic device designed for this project, and communication facilitators in the childrens’ homes. This hybrid approach will be evaluated as a remote learning environment to allow DeafBlind children to continue their learning at a distance consistent with slowing the spread of COVID-19. This approach will enable an analysis of the effects of the acquisition process as protactile language is transmitted from DeafBlind adult signers, who knew American Sign Language before protactile language, to DeafBlind children, who are acquiring protactile language as a first language. It is predicted that DeafBlind children will follow the general course of first language acquisition and will develop core lexical items earlier than verbs with componential morphology, thereby diverging from the path that adult signers have taken, creating forms with componential morphology before creating core lexical items. It is also predicted that the lexical forms created by children will adhere to protactile phonological principles more broadly than the forms created by adult protactile signers, whose application of protactile phonological principles is more restricted. If confirmed, the findings will show how DeafBlind children can acquire and expand language under conditions of social distancing, thereby modeling one way that education within vulnerable populations can be facilitated, while continuing to slow the spread of COVID-19This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.