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:

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

If you choose to join, you and your child will:

  • 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:

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

If you choose to join, you and your child will:

  • 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

Informational Flyer (English)

English recruitment flyer for the Family ASL Project

Folleto informativo (español)

Spanish recruitment flyer for the Family ASL Project

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

Patrice Creamer photo

Patrice Creamer

ASL Specialist
Hunter College
(she/her)

 

 

Meghan Shaw photo

Meghan Shaw

Lab Manager
UConn
(she/her)
Shane Blau photo

Shane Blau

Postdoc
UConn
(he/they)
Shengyun Gu* photo

Shengyun Gu

Postdoc
UConn
(she/her)

Aileen Cataquet

Hunter College
(she/her)

Dr. Mary Cecilia Conte photo

Mary Cecilia Conte

Gallaudet
(she/her)

Corinna Goodwin

Corina Goodwin

UConn
(she/her)

Dr. Matthew Hall photo

Matthew Hall

Temple University
(he/him)

 

 

Eileen Lograno photo

Eileen Lograno

Hunter College
(she/her)

Dr. Amber Martin photo

Amber Martin

Hunter College
(she/her)

Dr. Jeff Palmer photo

Jeff Palmer

NDC, UT Austin, Gallaudet
(he/him)

Bettie Petersen photo

Bettie Petersen

New Mexico School for the Deaf
(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

Brittany Farr photo

Brittany Farr

Dr. Janina Piotroski photo

Janina Piotroski

Nikki Pire photo

Nikki Pire

Charles Vernon

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 Presentations

Upcoming

    2024

    • Creamer, Patrice, & Gale, Elaine. Families learning ASL on Zoom: The good, the bad and the beautiful [Concurrent Presentation]. Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI), Denver, Colorado, United States; March, 2024. 
    • Gale, Elaine & Creamer, Patrice. Family ASL: Mini-lessons on visual communication strategies [Concurrent presentation]. Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI), Denver, Colorado, United States; March, 2024. 
    • Gale, Elaine, Gale, L., Creamer, Patrice, Best, S., & Gale, Z. Diversity, equity and inclusion: Deaf gain in children’s books [Poster presentation]. Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI), Denver, Colorado, United States; March, 2024. 
    • Gale, Elaine & Martin, Amber. Guiding values for deaf children’s language access [Poster presentation]. Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI), Denver, Colorado, United States; March, 2024. 
    • Gale, Elaine, Martin, Amber, & Lograno, Elaine. Family ASL: Researching shared attention through deaf eyes [Poster Presentation]. Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI), Denver, Colorado, United States; March, 2024. 
    • Gale, Elaine, Rems-Smario, J., Hopkins, K., & Olson, S. DHH adult consumer-to-family support services: Exploring parent experiences and perspectives [Poster Presentation]. Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI), Denver, Colorado, United States; March, 2024. 
    • Lillo-Martin, Diane, Gale, Elaine, Chen Pichler, Deborah, & Creamer, Patrice. Family bimodal bilingual language development: Longitudinal study of families learning ASL. Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI), Denver, Colorado, United States; March, 2024. 
    • Creamer, Patrice, & Gale, Elaine. Family ASL Zoom engagement: New era of ASL learning with families. Association of College Educators – Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACEDHH), Las Vegas, Nevada; February 2024.
    • Gale, Elaine, & Creamer, Patrice. Family ASL: Teaching mini-lessons on visual communication strategies [Poster presentation]. Association of College Educators – Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACEDHH), Las Vegas, Nevada; February 2024.
    • Gale, Elaine, Gale, Lucile, Creamer, Patrice, & Best, Suzy. Elevate, empower, and engage: Deaf gain in children’s books [Poster presentation]. Association of College Educators – Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACEDHH), Las Vegas, Nevada; February 2024.
    • Gale, Elaine, & Martin, Amber. Guiding values for elevating deaf children’s early language access [Poster presentation]. Association of College Educators – Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACEDHH), Las Vegas, Nevada; February 2024.
    • Gale, Elaine, Rems-Smario, Julie, Hopkins, Karen, & Olson, Stephanie. Exploring parent perspectives: When should professionals in early intervention offer families access to deaf adults? Association of College Educators – Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACEDHH), Las Vegas, Nevada; February 2024.
    • Gu, Shengyun, Lillo-Martin, Diane, Chen Pichler, Deborah, & Gale, Elaine. Early development in ASL phonology: A longitudinal study of deaf children with hearing parents. Linguistics Society of America, New York, NY; January 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.

    2022

    2021

    2020

    2019

    2018

    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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