Family ASL Logo: Blue block letters say FAMILY, under this there is a circle of colorful handprints, then line drawings of hands spelling out "A" "S" "L"

Family ASL is our new research project! We are investigating families with deaf children and hearing parents who have chosen to include American Sign Language as one of their  family languages. Our project looks at how parents and children learn ASL together, and the children’s development in English and other areas.

For more information about how to get involved, visit our recruitment page or contact our lab.

Study 1:

Children ages 2–5
Time Commitment: 1–6 hours (30-minute sessions)

Participants of this study would:

  • Participate in at least two 30-minute Zoom meetings with a lab member
  • Complete language activities, assessments and games
  • Receive $10 per session as a thank you

Study 2:

Children ages 2–3
Time commitment: 1–1.5 hours/week for a year

Participants in this study would:

  • Join weekly Zoom meetings for ASL services and language activities
  • Complete weekly recorded play sessions with your child
  • Receive up to $50/month as a thank you

Resource Article

Family ASL: An Early Start to Equitable Education for Deaf Children

blue child's handprint  

This article by Drs. Lillo-Martin, Chen Pichler and Gale discusses the importance of early language access and outlines actions to maximize DHH children’s chances for on-time language development.

           

Check out this short video for more details (Recruitment closed)

Informational Flyer - English


Informational Flyer (English)

Folleto Informativo - Español


Informational Flyer (Spanish)

Co-Principal Investigators

Dr Diane Lillo-Martin's photo

Diane Lillo-Martin

University of Connecticut
(she/her)

Dr. Deborah Chen Pichler photo

Deborah Chen Pichler

Gallaudet University
(she/her)

Dr Elaine Gale photo

Elaine Gale

Hunter College, CUNY
(she/her)

Contributors

Eileen Lograno photo

Eileen Lograno

ASL Specialist

Hunter College
(she/her)

Angelica Llerena

Lab Manager
UConn
(she/her)

 

 

Dr. Amber Martin photo

Amber Martin

Hunter College
(she/her)

Bettie Petersen photo

Bettie Petersen

New Mexico School for the Deaf
(she/her)

Shuyan Wang

Post Doc
UConn
(she/her)

Dr. Jeff Palmer photo

Jeff Palmer

NDC, UT Austin, Gallaudet
(he/him)

Dr. Matthew Hall photo

Matthew Hall

Temple University
(he/him)

 

 

Dr. Mary Cecilia Conte photo

Mary Cecilia Conte

Gallaudet
(she/her)

Graduate Students

Bonnie Barrett photo

Bonnie Barrett

Gallaudet
(she/her)
Martin Dale-Hench photo

Martin Dale-Hench

Gallaudet
(he/him)
Linghui (Eva) Gan photo

Linghui (Eva) Gan

UConn
(she/her)
Kaj Kraus photo

Kaj Kraus

Gallaudet
(he/him)
Maggie Lee photo

Chui-Yi (Maggie) Lee

UConn
(she/her)
Daniel Meier photo

Daniel Maier

Gallaudet
(he/him)

Previous Contributors

Ana (AJ) Dejesus photo

Ana (AJ) Dejesus

Meghan Shaw photo

Meghan Shaw

Aileen Cataquet

Brittany Farr photo

Brittany Farr

  Shengyun Gu* photo

Shengyun Gu

Dr. Janina Piotroski photo

Janina Piotroski

  Shane Blau photo

Shane Blau

Nikki Pire photo

Nikki Pire

 

Corinna Goodwin

Corina Goodwin

Charles Vernon

 

Patrice Creamer photo

Patrice Creamer

 

 

In Memoriam
Dr. Jon Henner photo

Jon Henner

1983-2023
UNC Greensboro
(he/him)

“How you language is beautiful. Don’t let anyone tell you your languaging is wrong. Your language is the story of your life.”

-Jon Henner

Related Articles

  • Lillo-Martin, Diane (2025). Sign Language acquisition is a human right. Proceedings of the Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) 49. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. https://www.lingref.com/bucld/49/BUCLD49-01.pdf 
  • Lillo-Martin, Diane, Chen Pichler, Deborah & Gale, Elaine (2025). Language and Cognitive Development in Bimodal Bilingual Deaf Children with Hearing Families: Three Case Studies. Behavioral Sciences 15(8), 1124 [special issue on Language and Cognitive Development in Deaf Children]. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/8/1124
  • Chen Pichler, Deborah, Conte, Mary Cecilia, Creamer, Patrice, Dale-Hench, Martin, Gale, Elaine, Gan, Linghui Eva, Goodwin, Corina, Gu, Shengyun, Kraus, Kaj, Lee, Chui-Yi, Lillo-Martin, Diane, Palmer, Jeffrey, Petersen, Bettie & Shaw, Meghan (2024). Profile of a family’s bimodal bilingual development. In Hayat AlThagafi and Jupitara Ray (Eds.), Proceedings of the Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) 48, 158-168. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. https://www.lingref.com/bucld/48/BUCLD48-12.pdf

Related Presentations

Upcoming

  • Barrett, Bonnie, Gan, Linghui, Chen Pichler, Deborah & Lillo-Martin, Diane. L2 Grammatical Development of ASL by Hearing Parents of Deaf Children. Linguistic Society of America annual meeting; New Orleans, LA; January 2026.
  • Gale, Elaine, Creamer, Patrice, Blau, Shane, Chen Pichler, Deborah & Lillo-Martin, Diane. Envisioning the future with visual strategies for spoken and/or sign language development. American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention; Washington, DC; November 2025.
  • Lillo-Martin, Diane, Gale, Elaine & Chen Pichler, Deborah. Sign and spoken language development in deaf children with hearing parents learning to sign. American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention; Washington, DC; November 2025.
  • Barrett, Bonnie, Kraus, Kaj, Blau, Shane, Dale-Hench, Martin, Chen Pichler, Deborah & Lillo-Martin, Diane. Implementing a language-specific subscore for more informative ASL syntax assessment for hearing parents and their DHH children. Boston University Conference on Language Development; Boston, MA; November 2025.
  • Gan, Linghui, Llerena, Angelica & Lillo-Martin, Diane. What does bimodal bilingual acquisition look like in deaf children with hearing parents? Boston University Conference on Language Development; Boston, MA; November 2025.
  • Kraus, Kaj, Barrett, Bonnie, Blau, Shane, Dale-Hench, Martin, Conte, Mary Cecilia, Lillo-Martin, Diane, Gale, Elaine & Chen Pichler, Deborah. Relationships between L2 hearing parent and L1 deaf child learning of ASL: Vocabulary and syntax. Poster presentation, Boston University Conference on Language Development; Boston, MA; November 2025.
  • Wang, Shuyan, Lee, Chui Yi, Lillo-Martin, Diane & Chen Pichler, Deborah. Development of syntax in spoken English by bimodal bilingual deaf children with cochlear implants: Comparison with hearing bilinguals and monolinguals. Boston University Conference on Language Development; Boston, MA; November 2025.
  • Gale, E., Blau, S., & Creamer, P. (2025, October). Starting with Visual Strategies for Communication. Researching the Deaf Community. Moscow, Russia.  
  • Gu, Shengyun & Lillo-Martin, Diane. The family language project. Society for the Neurobiology of Language; Washington, DC; September 2025.

 

2025

2024

2023

  • Chen Pichler, Deborah, Conte, Mary Cecilia, Creamer, Patrice, Dale-Hench, Martin, Gale, Elaine, Goodwin, Corina, Gu, Shengyun, Kraus, Kaj, Lee, Chui-Yi, Lillo-Martin, Diane, Palmer, Jeffrey, Petersen, Bettie & Shaw, Meghan. Profile of a family’s bimodal bilingual development [poster presentation]. Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD); Boston, MA; Nov. 2023.
  • Lillo-Martin, Diane, Gale, Elaine, Chen Pichler, Deborah, & Martin, Amber. Sign Language Acquisition as a Human Right. International seminar (online); Language Convergence Research Institute, Chosun University, South Korea; July 2023.
  • Gale, Elaine & Creamer, Patrice. Family ASL: Visual communication strategies for optimal language learning [Concurrent presentation]. International Congress on Family Centered Early Intervention (FCEI), Bad Ischl, Austria; May 2023.
  • Gale, Elaine, Gale, Laura, Creamer, Patrice, Best, Sarah, & Gale, Zoe. Promoting family wellbeing: Deaf gain in children’s books [Poster presentation]. International Congress on Family Centered Early Intervention (FCEI), Bad Ischl, Austria; May 2023.
  • Gale, Elaine & Martin, Amber. Family and provider partnership: Guiding values for deaf children’s early language access [Poster presentation]. International Congress on Family Centered Early Intervention (FCEI), Bad Ischl, Austria; May 2023.
  • Gale, Elaine, Martin, Amber, & Lograno, Eileen. Family ASL: Monitoring shared attention through deaf eyes for families and professionals [Concurrent presentation]. International Congress on Family Centered Early Intervention (FCEI), Bad Ischl, Austria; May 2023.
  • Gale, Elaine, Rems-Smario, Julie, Hopkins, Krista, & Olson, Sarah. Deaf adults in early intervention: Preliminary data on parent experiences and perspectives [Poster presentation]. International Congress on Family Centered Early Intervention (FCEI), Bad Ischl, Austria; May 2023.
  • Creamer, Patrice & Gale, Elaine. Family ASL: Tips for teaching and learning ASL online [Poster presentation]. International Congress on Family Centered Early Intervention (FCEI), Bad Ischl, Austria; May 2023.

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Want more info? Contact us here!

Want more info? Contact us here!

Please use this form to let us know if you are interested in participating or would like more information. A lab member will be in touch with you shortly. Thank you for your interest!

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