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{{Infobox person |
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{{tone|date=September 2012}} |
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| name = Samuel James Supalla |
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|12|04}} |
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| birth_place = [[Pasco, Washington]] |
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'''Samuel James Supalla''' (December 4, 1957) is an [[American Sign Language]] performer, filmmaker, and linguist. |
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| ⚫ | Supalla was born in [[Pasco, Washington]] in December 1957. On his birth, he has said: "Although, I really think of myself as being born around December 23rd with the help of my brother, Ted!"<ref>{{cite book|last=Supalla|first=Samuel J.|title=The book of name signs|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Sign Press|location=Berkeley, Calif.|isbn=0-915035-30-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bookofnamesignsn0000supa/page/4 4]|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofnamesignsn0000supa/page/4}}</ref> Ted had helped with the creation of his [[name sign]], which Samuel did not have until three weeks after his birth.<ref>{{cite book|last=Supalla|first=Samuel J.|title=The Book of Name Signs|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Sign Press|location=Berkeley, Calif.|isbn=0-915035-30-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bookofnamesignsn0000supa/page/4 4]|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofnamesignsn0000supa/page/4}}</ref> At a very young age, he began appointing name signs for others. Both of his parents were deaf and he had three brothers, two deaf and one hard of hearing. Supalla is notable for his storytelling performances in [[American Sign Language]] (ASL), particularly for his narrative in ''The American Literature Series: For a Decent Living''. He is a filmmaker and a linguist “whose interest lies in the research and English development issues concerning deaf children”<ref>{{cite web|title=Samuel Supalla, Ph.D.|url=http://www.coe.arizona.edu/faculty_profile/156|publisher=The University of Arizona College of Education|accessdate=11 December 2011}}</ref> and stresses the importance of a natural sign language. |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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Before enrolling in school, |
Before enrolling in school, Samuel's father would often go to the [[Deaf Club]] bringing the whole family along to attend. Samuel himself remembers the old stories and plays that were performed in ASL. The audience at the Club shared a fascination for these ASL stories. He graduated from the Oregon School for the Deaf. Throughout preschool and elementary, the program enforced [[oralism]] amongst deaf students where signing was not allowed. Although the children were not allowed to sign, they would do so in their dormitories. “I had become a signing model for my peers during the early formative years.<ref>{{cite web|last=Supalla|first=Samuel James|title=Personal Interview with Sam Supalla}}</ref> When Supalla went home, he made up stories about an imaginary white horse, and when he returned to school, he told his classmates. When the students visited his home, “they would ask where the white horse was. I would have to lie and tell them that the white horse died. They were disappointed that they never got to see the white horse”.<ref>{{cite book |title=ASL Literature Series: Bird of a Different Feather; For a Decent Living|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Pictures|location=San Diego, CA|isbn=0-915035-21-9}}</ref> |
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“I had become a signing model for my peers during the early formative years.” <ref>{{cite web|last=Supalla|first=Samuel James|title=Personal Interview with Sam Supalla|accessdate=8 December 2011}}</ref> At the Deaf school, children would sometimes go home on the weekends, while some stayed at their dorms. When Sam would go home he would make up stories about an imaginary white horse he had and when he would come back to school he would story tell about it to his friends. But once the students would come and visit his home “they would ask where the white horse was. I would have to lie and tell them that the white horse died. They were disappointed that they never got to saw the white horse”.<ref>{{cite book |title=ASL Literature Series: Bird of a Different Feather ; For a Decent Living|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Pictures|location=San Diego, CA|isbn=0-915035-21-9}}</ref> It was this bogus and imaginary story that had led to the start of his experience in telling stories and had paved the path to his future success as a prominent story teller. |
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==Discovery of Talent== |
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| ⚫ | At the end of |
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==Talent competition== |
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==Currently== |
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| ⚫ | When Supalla was 15, the Oregon School for the Deaf was invited by [[Gallaudet University]] to go to [[National Association of the Deaf (United States)|National Association of the Deaf]]. There was a talent competition in front of an audience of Gallaudet students. Supalla won the competition.<ref>{{cite book |title=ASL Literature Series: Bird of a Different Feather ; For a Decent Living|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Pictures|location=San Diego, CA|isbn=0-915035-21-9}}</ref> |
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After graduating from the University of Illinois with a Masters and Doctorate in Education, he had been offered a job from the University of Arizona after he finished his successful dissertation. Samuel then made the decision to take the job offer and moved to Tucson, AZ in 1989. His prime focus at the University is in Disability & Psychoeducational Studies as a prestigious professor. For majoring in the educational/ bilingual education field, his research and concern pushes towards the linguistics needs of deaf children. |
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| ⚫ | At the end of high school, Supalla enrolled at [[California State University Northridge]] in 1976 and graduated as a History major. During his college years, he was invited to a conference on American Sign Language research, as a part of the entertainment for the conference. It was this engagement that established the start of his professional career. During this period of his life, he travelled for the purpose of doing live shows/storytelling in front of many audiences. He worked as a research assistant at the [[Salk Institute]] for Biological Studies. His next move was to apply to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1982, where he was admitted and majored in education with a concentration in bilingual education. It was at the University of Illinois that he received his master's degree and Doctorate degrees. |
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==Career== |
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After graduating from the University of Illinois, Supalla was offered a job at the University of Arizona. He took the job and moved to Tucson, Arizona, in 1989. His prime focus at the university is on disability and psychoeducational studies. |
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| ⚫ | “His original work on how artificial English-based sign systems fail has led to a greater appreciation of American Sign Language (ASL) as a working language in terms of visual perception and processing.” <ref>{{cite web|title=Samuel Supalla, Ph.D.|url=http://www.coe.arizona.edu/faculty_profile/156|publisher=The University of Arizona College of Education|accessdate=11 December 2011}}</ref> |
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==Success== |
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'''[[The Book Of Names Signs]]''': This book written by Deaf Linguist Sam Supalla was published 1992.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/people/957418?q=Samuel+James&c=people Publications recognized]</ref> This text serves to describe in depth the origins of American Sign Language name signing. He has acknowledged a systematic pattern for giving name signs to those within the Deaf community which too includes a list/chart of over 500 name signs. He also discusses the rules of name signing and goes on to express the legitimacy of these names signs in correlation to names given in the hearing community. Name signs are legitimate and function as appropriate names. Name signing is one of the many important components of Deaf culture. |
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| ⚫ | Supalla is concerned with literacy issues regarding learning to read and write in English. “In the case of deaf children, the need to develop a 'mother tongue' (e.g., ASL) is stressed in order to facilitate the learning of a second language (e.g., English) within the context of bilingualism.” <ref>{{cite book|last=[Hrsg.]|first=Margaret Walworth; Donald F. Moores; Terrence J. O'Rourke|title=A Free Hand : Enfranchising the Education of Deaf Children|year=1992|publisher=T.J. Publishers|location=Silver Spring, Md.|isbn=978-0-932666-40-6|pages=172}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | |||
Supalla's ''The Book Of Names Signs'' was published 1992.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/people/957418?q=Samuel+James&c=people Publications recognized]</ref> It describes the origins of American Sign Language name signing. |
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| ⚫ | '' |
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| ⚫ | ''[[ASL-phabet]]'' is a system designed by Supalla. It is the American Sign Language dictionary for kids which consists of over 300 sign words that include symbols such as Handshape, Location, and Movement. It is a “primary source of English for deaf learners“.<ref>{{cite web|last=Supalla|first=Samuel James|title=ASLphabet|url=http://aslphabet.com/|publisher=The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf 2009|accessdate=12 December 2011}}</ref> |
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'''[[ASL Literature Series: For a Decent Living]]''': “The initial release in 1992 of the ASL Literature Series adds significantly to the literary heritage of the deaf community.” <ref>{{cite book|last=Bahan |last2=Supalla |first=Ben |first2=Samuel |title=Bird of a different feather ; For a decent living|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Pictures|location=San Diego, CA|isbn=978-0-915035-21-2|pages=viii}}</ref> It is a story based on the deaf experience starting off with a young man who is raised at a farm with hearing parents and decides to flee his home over to the big city. He then encounters a deaf club through the help of another man. When he first arrives, the deaf club members looked at him with suspicion; mistaking him for a peddler. After finding the truth about him, they kindly welcome him and then begin to ask about job opportunities in the city. The members notify him of many job opportunities but one that caught his attention was the job opening at a factory. Many of them warned the young man about the unlikelihood of hiring a deaf employee there. He persists to take the challenge and goes right to the factory to meet the boss. The boss coincidentally knew fingerspelling and gives the young man the job at the factory. Happily, the young man works at his job and is considered an efficient hard worker. Then one day the young man had an accident at the factory where he fell into a large hole. He was sent to the hospital and that same day he manages to leave the hospital limping on his way out back to the factory. This quick “recovery” makes an impression on the boss. The young man is seen almost as a deaf hero and is looked upon as a model worker amongst his hearing and deaf counterparts. This narrative is “a composite of stories the narrator/performer “listened to” during childhood, is put together in an original way.<ref>{{cite book|last=Peters|first=Cynthia|title=Deaf American literature : from carnival to the canon|year=2000|publisher=Gallaudet Univ. Press|location=Washington, DC|isbn=1-56368-094-7|pages=177}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Supalla contributed to ''A Free Hand: Enfranchising the Education of Deaf Children''. His part discusses “the policy analysis on the notion of reverse mainstreaming and the redefinition of bilingual education for deaf children that is forthcoming.”<ref>{{cite book|last=[Hrsg.]|first=Margaret Walworth; Donald F. Moores; Terrence J. O'Rourke|title=A free hand : Enfranchising the education of deaf children|year=1992|publisher=T.J. Publishers|location=Silver Spring, Md.|isbn=978-0-932666-40-6|pages=170}}</ref> |
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==Personal Perspective on Deaf Literature== |
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''"Deaf literature is obviously important for a number of reasons. I prefer to use the term ASL literature as it addresses the use of ASL, not English. It is through the sign language that deaf performers like myself can express linguistically in the most authentic and aesthetically possible forms. Hearing performers can participate as long as their work is of high quality. ASL does not have any conventional writing, thus the literary pieces through videotape or DVD work wonders for the public as deaf experiences can be expressed and appreciated. Non-deaf experiences can be part of ASL literature understanding that the piece is done with high aesthetic value. 'For a Decent Living' serves as one example of what I believe is what should be done with ASL literature."'' <ref>{{cite web|last=Supalla|first=Samuel James|title=Personal Interview with Sam Supalla|accessdate=8 December 2011}}</ref> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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*<ref>{{cite book|last=Supalla|first=Samuel J.|title=The Book of Name Signs|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Sign Press|location=Berkeley, Calif.|isbn=0-915035-30-8|pages=4}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite book|last=Supalla|first=Samuel J.|title=The Book of Name Signs|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Sign Press|location=Berkeley, Calif.|isbn=0-915035-30-8|pages=4}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite web|title=Samuel Supalla, Ph.D.|url=http://www.coe.arizona.edu/faculty_profile/156|publisher=The University of Arizona College of Education|accessdate=11 December 2011}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite web|last=Supalla|first=Samuel James|title=Personal Interview with Sam Supalla|accessdate=8 December 2011}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite book|last=Produced|title=ASL Literature Series: Bird of a Different Feather ; For a Decent Living|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Pictures|location=San Diego, CA|isbn=0-915035-21-9|coauthors=DeBee, directed by James R.}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite book|last=Produced|title=ASL Literature Series: Bird of a Different Feather ; For a Decent Living|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Pictures|location=San Diego, CA|isbn=0-915035-21-9|coauthors=DeBee, directed by James R.}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite web|title=Samuel Supalla, Ph.D.|url=http://www.coe.arizona.edu/faculty_profile/156|publisher=The University of Arizona College of Education|accessdate=11 December 2011}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite book|last=[Hrsg.]|first=Margaret Walworth; Donald F. Moores; Terrence J. O'Rourke|title=A Free Hand : Enfranchising the Education of Deaf Children|year=1992|publisher=T.J. Publishers|location=Silver Spring, Md.|isbn=978-0-932666-40-6|pages=172}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite web|last=Supalla|first=Samuel James|title=ASLphabet|url=http://aslphabet.com/|publisher=The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf 2009|accessdate=12 December 2011}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite book|last=[Hrsg.]|first=Margaret Walworth; Donald F. Moores; Terrence J. O'Rourke|title=A free hand : Enfranchising the education of deaf children|year=1992|publisher=T.J. Publishers|location=Silver Spring, Md.|isbn=978-0-932666-40-6|pages=170}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite book|last=Bahan; Supalla|first=Ben; Samuel|title=Bird of a different feather ; For a decent living|year=1992|publisher=Dawn Pictures|location=San Diego, CA|isbn=978-0-915035-21-2|pages=viii|coauthors=DeBee, directed by James R.}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite book|last=Peters|first=Cynthia|title=Deaf American literature : from carnival to the canon|year=2000|publisher=Gallaudet Univ. Press|location=Washington, DC|isbn=1-56368-094-7|pages=177}}</ref> |
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*<ref>{{cite web|last=Supalla|first=Samuel James|title=Personal Interview with Sam Supalla|accessdate=8 December 2011}}</ref> |
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--> |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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[[Category:1957 births]] |
[[Category:1957 births]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:Deaf articles needing infoboxes]] |
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[[Category:Deaf writers]] |
[[Category:Deaf writers]] |
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[[Category:People from Pasco, Washington]] |
[[Category:People from Pasco, Washington]] |
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| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Linguists of sign languages]] |
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[[Category:American writers with disabilities]] |
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Revision as of 01:42, 21 July 2023
Samuel James Supalla | |
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| Born | December 4, 1957 |
Samuel James Supalla (December 4, 1957) is an American Sign Language performer, filmmaker, and linguist.
Supalla was born in Pasco, Washington in December 1957. On his birth, he has said: "Although, I really think of myself as being born around December 23rd with the help of my brother, Ted!"[1] Ted had helped with the creation of his name sign, which Samuel did not have until three weeks after his birth.[2] At a very young age, he began appointing name signs for others. Both of his parents were deaf and he had three brothers, two deaf and one hard of hearing. Supalla is notable for his storytelling performances in American Sign Language (ASL), particularly for his narrative in The American Literature Series: For a Decent Living. He is a filmmaker and a linguist “whose interest lies in the research and English development issues concerning deaf children”[3] and stresses the importance of a natural sign language.
Early life
Before enrolling in school, Samuel's father would often go to the Deaf Club bringing the whole family along to attend. Samuel himself remembers the old stories and plays that were performed in ASL. The audience at the Club shared a fascination for these ASL stories. He graduated from the Oregon School for the Deaf. Throughout preschool and elementary, the program enforced oralism amongst deaf students where signing was not allowed. Although the children were not allowed to sign, they would do so in their dormitories. “I had become a signing model for my peers during the early formative years.[4] When Supalla went home, he made up stories about an imaginary white horse, and when he returned to school, he told his classmates. When the students visited his home, “they would ask where the white horse was. I would have to lie and tell them that the white horse died. They were disappointed that they never got to see the white horse”.[5]
Talent competition
When Supalla was 15, the Oregon School for the Deaf was invited by Gallaudet University to go to National Association of the Deaf. There was a talent competition in front of an audience of Gallaudet students. Supalla won the competition.[6]
College years
At the end of high school, Supalla enrolled at California State University Northridge in 1976 and graduated as a History major. During his college years, he was invited to a conference on American Sign Language research, as a part of the entertainment for the conference. It was this engagement that established the start of his professional career. During this period of his life, he travelled for the purpose of doing live shows/storytelling in front of many audiences. He worked as a research assistant at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. His next move was to apply to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1982, where he was admitted and majored in education with a concentration in bilingual education. It was at the University of Illinois that he received his master's degree and Doctorate degrees.
Career
After graduating from the University of Illinois, Supalla was offered a job at the University of Arizona. He took the job and moved to Tucson, Arizona, in 1989. His prime focus at the university is on disability and psychoeducational studies.
“His original work on how artificial English-based sign systems fail has led to a greater appreciation of American Sign Language (ASL) as a working language in terms of visual perception and processing.” [7]
Supalla is concerned with literacy issues regarding learning to read and write in English. “In the case of deaf children, the need to develop a 'mother tongue' (e.g., ASL) is stressed in order to facilitate the learning of a second language (e.g., English) within the context of bilingualism.” [8]
Supalla's The Book Of Names Signs was published 1992.[9] It describes the origins of American Sign Language name signing.
ASL-phabet is a system designed by Supalla. It is the American Sign Language dictionary for kids which consists of over 300 sign words that include symbols such as Handshape, Location, and Movement. It is a “primary source of English for deaf learners“.[10]
Supalla contributed to A Free Hand: Enfranchising the Education of Deaf Children. His part discusses “the policy analysis on the notion of reverse mainstreaming and the redefinition of bilingual education for deaf children that is forthcoming.”[11]
References
- ^ Supalla, Samuel J. (1992). The book of name signs. Berkeley, Calif.: Dawn Sign Press. pp. 4. ISBN 0-915035-30-8.
- ^ Supalla, Samuel J. (1992). The Book of Name Signs. Berkeley, Calif.: Dawn Sign Press. pp. 4. ISBN 0-915035-30-8.
- ^ "Samuel Supalla, Ph.D." The University of Arizona College of Education. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- ^ Supalla, Samuel James. "Personal Interview with Sam Supalla".
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ ASL Literature Series: Bird of a Different Feather; For a Decent Living. San Diego, CA: Dawn Pictures. 1992. ISBN 0-915035-21-9.
- ^ ASL Literature Series: Bird of a Different Feather ; For a Decent Living. San Diego, CA: Dawn Pictures. 1992. ISBN 0-915035-21-9.
- ^ "Samuel Supalla, Ph.D." The University of Arizona College of Education. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- ^ [Hrsg.], Margaret Walworth; Donald F. Moores; Terrence J. O'Rourke (1992). A Free Hand : Enfranchising the Education of Deaf Children. Silver Spring, Md.: T.J. Publishers. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-932666-40-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Publications recognized
- ^ Supalla, Samuel James. "ASLphabet". The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ [Hrsg.], Margaret Walworth; Donald F. Moores; Terrence J. O'Rourke (1992). A free hand : Enfranchising the education of deaf children. Silver Spring, Md.: T.J. Publishers. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-932666-40-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)