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)

 

 

Angelica Llerena

Lab Manager
UConn
(she/her)

 

 

Aileen Cataquet

Hunter College
(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)

Eileen Lograno photo

Eileen Lograno

Hunter College
(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)

Shuyan Wang

Post Doc
UConn
(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

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

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

  • Lillo-Martin, Diane. Sign Language acquisition is a human right. Invited keynote presentation; Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD); Boston, MA; Nov. 2024.

  • Lillo-Martin, Diane, Chen Pichler, Deborah & Gale, Elaine. Family ASL: Deaf children and hearing parents learning ASL together. SIGN10; Trinidad; December 2024.

  • Gale, Elaine, Creamer, Patrice, Blau, Shane. Language Input for Deaf Infants: What Do Deaf Babies Need and How Can Parents Provide it? SIGN10; Trinidad; December 2024.

  • Blau, Shane, Chen Pichler, Deborah, Gale, Elaine & Lillo-Martin, Diane. Sign Language Acquisition by Deaf Children with Hearing, Signing Families: Visual Communication and Vocabulary. Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting; Philadelphia, PA; Jan. 2025.

  • Blau, Shane, Chen Pichler, Deborah, Gale, Elaine & Lillo-Martin, Diane. Development of visual communication and sign language by deaf children in the Family ASL project. Poster presentation, Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research (TISLR); Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Jan. 2025.

  • Gu, Shengyun, Lillo-Martin, Diane, Chen Pichler, Deborah & Gale, Elaine. ASL phonology development in deaf children with hearing sign-learning parents. Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research (TISLR); Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Jan. 2025.

  • Gale, Elaine, Creamer, Patrice, Blau, Shane. Eyes on Language: Early Visual Strategies for Language-Rich Environments. ACEDHH; Washington D.C.; February 2025

  • Lillo-Martin, Diane, Lee, Chui-Yi, Gale, Elaine, Chen Pichler, Deborah. Bimodal Bilingual Benefits Counter Audism and Linguicism. ACEDHH; Washington D.C.; February 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.

    2022

    2021

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    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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