American Sign Language (ASL) is defined as a complete, complex language that employs signs made with the hands and other movements, including facial expressions and postures of the body. It is the first language of many deaf North Americans, and one of several communication options available for deaf people (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2005 ). ASL is utilized primarily by individuals with hearing impairments, but can also be used to teach persons with developmental disabilities to communicate.
Research has suggested that teaching ASL and speech communication simultaneously will increase the likelihood of an autistic person’s ability to speak (Weiss, 1997 ). The frustrations associated with a nonverbal person’s inability to express a need can be decreased by allowing that person to sign. ASL has its own independent grammar structure that is not based on English. In addition, ASL has the ability to convey an entire sentence in one combination gesture (Weiss, 1997 ). ASL relies not only on hand gestures, but on body movements, facial expressions, and surrounding space in the environment to convey messages (Nakamura, 1995 ).
Those interested in learning ASL, while implementing a program that combines sign language and speech may wish to read the book entitled Signed Speech Language Programfor Nonverbal Students, written by B. Schaeffer, A. Raphael, and G. Killinzas (Weiss, 1997 ). This book provides a description of the steps needed to implement the program.
