This breakthrough now demands attention regarding reading instruction considerations, as deaf students continue to struggle in gaining English literacy skills. In response, a charter school was established in Tucson, Arizona in 1997 and this school enjoyed a formal research and development affiliation with The University of Arizona, led by Dr. Sam Supalla’s efforts.
These efforts focused on how we can best teaching reading to deaf students by breaking down any restrictions. This is how ASL Gloss™ came into existence and allowed for building the literacy curriculum from the ground up. Dr. Supalla and his collaborators continued gaining experience from training and working with educators in three schools for deaf children in Canada. The Canadian pilot testing of ASL Gloss™ as well as the Arizona charter school’s efforts were critical for affirming the reality of effective learning experiences for deaf students.
Supporting the rationale of ASL Gloss™, researchers confirmed the restrictive nature of English phonology as follows:
