Abstract

Fingerspelling is a system of manually representing the graphemes of a spoken language used by members of Deaf communities worldwide. Yet, at least within the North American educational system, fingerspelling appears to be largely discounted in favor of sign usage, despite its high potential for linkage to the orthographical system of English and literacy development. The author describes fingerspelling in connection with how it is used within the American Deaf community, and also describes the development of fingerspelling skills in deaf (and hearing) children. He also describes how deaf adults use fingerspelling to promote literacy development in young deaf children. Strategies for increasing the use of fingerspelling by teachers and parents of the Deaf are outlined.