Aníbal Puente

Fingerspelling and Sign Language as Alternative Codes for Reading and Writing Words for Chilean Deaf Signers

The study examined the role of sign language and fingerspelling in the development of the reading and writing skills of deaf children and youth. Twenty-six deaf participants (13 children, 13 adolescents), whose first language was Chilean Sign Language (CHSL), were examined. Their dactylic abilities were evaluated with tasks involving the reading and writing of dactylic and orthographic codes. The study included three experiments: (a) the identification of Chilean signs and fingerspelled words, (b) the matching of fingerspelled words with commercial logos, and (c) the decoding of fingerspelled words and the mapping of these words onto the writing system. The results provide convergent evidence that the use of fingerspelling and sign language is related to orthographic skills. It is concluded that fingerspelling can facilitate the internal representation of words and serve as a supporting mechanism for reading acquisition.

Visual and Phonological Coding in Working Memory and Orthographic Skills of Deaf Children Using Chilean Sign Language

Deaf children can improve their reading skills by learning to use alternative, visual codes such as fingerspelling. A sample of 28 deaf children between the ages of 7 and 16 years was used as an experimental group and another sample of 15 hearing children of similar age and academic level as a control group. Two experiments were carried out to study the possible interactions between phonological and visual codes and working memory, and to understand the relationships between these codes and reading and orthographic achievement. The results highlight the relationship between dactylic and orthographic coding. Just as phoneme-to-grapheme knowledge can facilitate reading for hearing children, fingerspelling-to-grapheme knowledge has the potential to play a similar role for deaf readers.

Parent Perceived Impact of Spaniard Boys' and Girls' Inattention, Hyperactivity, and Oppositional Defiant Behaviors on Family Life

Objective: This study examined the impact of inattention, hyperactivity, and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) behaviors and gender on family life. Method: We created scales for the Family Experiences Inventory (FEI) in a nonclinical sample of Spaniard families with children ages 6 to 12 years (N = 369) and analyzed the perceived impact of these three behavior dimensions on family experiences. Results: Multiple regression analyses indicated that ODD behaviors were uniquely correlated with Total FEI and its dimensions. Inattention was also uniquely related to higher negative Impact on School Relations and lower Positive Impact on Parents scales. Finally, gender—hyperactivity interactions indicated that boys with higher hyperactivity scores were more likely to score higher on the FEI Total, School Relations, and Siblings scales, and more likely to score lower on the Positive Impact on Parents scale than girls. Conclusions: These findings suggested that parents perceive greater child-related impact and place greater burden from having a male child with hyperactivity. Inattention, hyperactivity, and oppositional defiant behaviors are associated with global parent—child interactive stress but the pattern of associations will vary depending upon the behavior, child gender, and context of family life examined.