Language Acquisition and Visual Attention Lab

10/15/2024

Our team at Boston University’s Deaf Studies program is planning a trip to Austin, Texas, to work with researchers from the University of Texas at Austin 💼✈️. We aim to learn how deaf children acquire ASL! Our visit will be between October 21 and 26 2024!
We are looking for families with deaf children between 12 months and 48 months old. Families are paid up to $100 for participating, and children receive a book or a toy📚🧸. We would love to have you join us! 🌟
If you are interested, please sign up at our website: https://sites.bu.edu/lavalab/tx/ 🌐 or email us at [email protected] 📧. We look forward to connecting!

12/06/2021

Are you interested in learning more about pursuing a degree in Deaf Education at Boston University?

Join us for an info session this Thursday, December 8th at 7:00pm. Register here!

https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEuduiqrzMsGdJted0M63QMjalcDdOSmLsp

11/09/2021

Hello, families!

We have a new online vocabulary study and would like to invite you to participate!

We will play an online game to learn about your child’s developing vocabulary. In the game, we will have a signed video and 4 pictures below it. Your child will pick which picture best matches the sign in the video.

We are looking for deaf children 2 ½ to 6 years of age. This game will take around 20 minutes. When the game is completed, we will email you an e-gift card to thank you for your participation.

If you’re interested, please visit https://sites.bu.edu/lavalab/erat2/ and fill out the form there. I will email you the scheduling link and further instructions for the next steps. Thank you!

[Video description: A Filipino-Chinese woman with long dark curly hair and red lips stands in front of a grey backdrop. She has on a grey v-neck sweater. She signs in ASL. See text above.]

09/23/2021

New paper alert!

Our research team is working to understand how deaf children acquire new signs. Children learning words need to connect "word to wold," meaning they need to make a connection between the words in their input and the objects and events in their world. For children learning ASL, where both language input and objects are perceived through vision, word learning can only happen if children look in the right place at the right time. Over the last few years we have tested over 60 deaf children learning ASL and found that they are remarkably good at deciding when and where to shift their gaze to learn new ASL signs. And they can do this before their second birthday if they are exposed to language early. A huge thank you to all the families who participated in the study, making this work possible!

You can check out the paper here:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/desc.13166

Please check your email for instructions on resetting your password. If you do not receive an email within 10 minutes, your email address may not be registered, and you may need to create a new Wiley Online Library account.

09/15/2021

What a great resource for schools with deaf students!

We have an exciting announcement!

We are offering new school subscriptions through https://handsland.podia.com/ . The subscription comes with 30 ASL rhyme and rhythm videos supplemented with weekly lesson plans aligned to ASL standards, Google Slides, language activities, and student worksheets.

The subscription includes unlimited user accounts for anyone affiliated with the school, such as teachers, dorm staff, students, and their families.

Do you know of any programs, schools, or districts that would benefit from Hands Land resources? Have them contact us at [email protected]!

06/03/2021

A great resource for families and educators!

This is great news! Please share with families & deaf educators (and pretty much everyone). Thank you, 💚🤟🏼 Free access to the online video version of The Gallaudet Children's Dictionary of ASL has been extended indefinitely! We are thrilled to have this resource free and open for children, their families, and friends.

Visit http://gcdasl.com to explore the dictionary, and feel free to share widely.

Image description: Social media card promoting the extension of free online access to children’s dictionary. White text against purple background, with front cover of the Gallaudet Children’s Dictionary of ASL in the center left. Cover description: On center right is Asian-presenting child with long dark brown hair and a purple shirt signing I LOVE YOU. On left is illustration of white-presenting guardian sitting on a red chair, signing I LOVE YOU to the baby they are holding. The lowercase letters "abc" are on the top of the cover in bold bright colors, and uppercase letters ABC are on the bottom of the cover in bold bright colors.

05/28/2021

Meet Elana! Elana is a recent graduate of the EdM in Deaf Education program and has been with the LAVA Lab since 2019.

[Image description: First image is of a white woman with long brown hair. She is wearing a patterned blue sleeveless shirt with sunglasses on her head and smiling at the camera. Overlapping text on a translucent bar says: ‘Meet Elana: Lab Manager’. Second image is split with narrower yellow column on the left with text that says: ‘Get to know Elana Pontecorvo. EdM in Deaf Education '21, and wider darker gray column on the right with text that says: Hometown: Berkeley, California. Research interests: Sign language acquisition and supporting early language acquisition for deaf kids. Fun Facts. Love of languages: She has studied 7 languages, 5 spoken and 2 signed. (But today she could only have a conversation in 2 of them!). Travel bug: She loves to travel and explore both nature and cities in the US and abroad.]

05/18/2021

Check out these awesome ASL & English literacy resources from Motion Light Lab!

May is a delightful month—full of ☀️warmth, 🌸flowers, and best of all, summer vacation is right around the corner! 😎

BUT wait! Here’s another reason to love May— we’re offering three of our storybook apps FOR FREE!

‼️Yes! TRU biz. That’s My Blue Crayon, Eat Your Veggies, and the Lazy Elephant are free to download on your iPad til May 31st!

🖍🥕🐘Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity- download those apps to enjoy with your kids now!

(Image Description in comments section)

05/12/2021

Congratulations to Julia Leary, who presented her Senior Honors Thesis, "Pointing in Parent Input During Interactions with Deaf Children in American Sign Language." Her research investigated parent use of pointing cues in ASL and their success at managing deaf children’s visual attention. Julia is a senior, who has been with the LAVA Lab for two years. She is graduating with a major in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, and a minor in Deaf Studies. Next fall she will begin a masters in Speech Language Pathology at Emerson College. Congratulations, Julia!

05/06/2021

Meet Michael! He is a PhD student here at Boston University. In addition to his studies and research, he's part of the team behind the amazing ASL educational resources at Hands Land. Check out them out on facebook or at http://handsland.podia.com/

[Image description: First image is of Michael, a white male with short hair and a beard. He is wearing a light blue button up collared shirt with a gray jacket and standing in front of bookshelves. Overlapping text on a translucent bar above the gray, cloudy sky says: ‘Meet Michael: PhD student and Research Assistant’.
Second image is split with narrower yellow column on the left with text that says: ‘Get to know Michael Higgins. 1st year PhD student in Language and Literacy, and wider darker gray column on the right with text that says: Hometown: Seattle, Washington. Research interests: Language development and literacy in deaf children. Fun Facts: He is a 3-time Deaflympian in soccer. As a pastime, he enjoys fly fishing.’]

04/29/2021

Check out these summer ASL classes for families of deaf infants and toddlers offered by ASL at Home!

We’re so excited to announce our Summer 2021 course offerings for “Learn ASL at Home!”
🌟 Standard class format: 5-week class; Sundays from June 27th - August 1st (no class July 4th).
🌟 Immersion class format: 1-week class; Monday-Friday from July 12-16th

🕒 All classes are 10am-12pm PDT

🤔 If you have questions, DM us on social media or email us at [email protected]

✔️ Registration for these classes will open in the coming weeks and we’ll make a separate announcement when that happens. We can’t wait to meet you and help bring ASL into your home, with “Learn ASL at Home!”


Image Description: The background of the image is a semi-translucent version of the ASL at Home logo. There are clusters of text in various positions on the image.

Top left: Bold text reads “immersion format”. Text reads “M-F July 12-16, 10am-12pm PDT” There is a small “Learn ASL at Home” Logo just below the text. Top middle: Bold text reads “Standard format”. Text reads “Sundays June 27-Aug 1, 10am-12pm PDT. Small text reads “* no class July 4th” There is a small “Learn ASL at Home” Logo just below the text. Top right: Bold text reads “We’re thrilled to offer 2 “Learn ASL at Home” classes this summer!” There is a small “Learn ASL at Home” Logo just below the text.

Bottom left to bottom middle: a screenshot of the first slide in the Learn ASL at Home course. Text in the middle of the image reads “Learn ASL at Home”. Small text below that reads “welcome to class.” There are various school-related items decorating the slide like notebooks, an envelope, a ruler and several writing implements. In the top left corner is a small ASL at Home logo.

Bottom middle to bottom right: text reading “Announcing our Summer 2021 course offerings!” with a small ASL at Home logo in the bottom right corner.

04/22/2021

Next up is Lilly! Lilly is a first year graduate student and has been a research assistant with the LAVA Lab since Fall 2020. Check out her fun facts!

[Image description: First image is of a Caucasian deaf woman, standing against the sunflower field. She has medium dye brown/blonde hair and is wearing a navy blue top. She is grinning widely at the camera. Overlapping text on a translucent bar above the gray, cloudy sky says: ‘Meet Lilly: EdM student and Research Assistant’.
Second image is split with narrower yellow column on the left with text that says: ‘Get to know Lilly Heller. 1st year EdM in Deaf Education student’, and wider darker gray column on the right with text that says: Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri. Goals for after graduation: Become an elementary school teacher at a school for the deaf. Fun Facts: Dessert lover. As much as she loves sweets, her favorite ice cream flavor is plain vanilla. Grey’s Anatomy fan. There are 17 seasons and 370 episodes (and counting) of Grey’s Anatomy, and she has seen every single one!’]