Jonathan Henner
Biographic Data
| ID | 1691990 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jonathan Henner |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jonathan |
| FAMILY NAME | Henner |
| SIGNATURE | HENNER J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of North Carolina at Greensboro |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3884-8253 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 25 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Avoiding unintended consequences
Many U.S. policies inspired by the Science of Reading rest on two assumptions: (1) skilled reading always involves automatic mapping between written words and speech sounds, and (2) all children benefit from systematic instruction of phonological awareness and phonics. These assumptions are not wholly accurate, that they do not consider scientific evidence from deaf readers, and that policies based on these assumptions may be harmful to deaf chil…
Preliminary development of the deaf childhood experiences scale
We describe here the initial creation and validation of a tool designed to quantify certain unique life experiences of deaf individuals. The Deaf Childhood Experiences Scale (DCES) aims to provide empirical data on uniquely deaf life factors with the long-term goal of better understanding education, health, and quality of life outcomes among deaf populations. The methodology involved a mixed-methods approach of qualitative interviews with deaf co…
Learning disability identification in residential schools for deaf students
Identifying specific learning disabilities in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students presents unique challenges due to various factors, including language access. This study utilized data from 810 students enrolled in schools for the deaf to examine the influence of gender, educational level, signing status, and vocabulary knowledge on specific learning disability identification or suspicion. The analysis revealed that male students, those in mi…
Tales of a fourth-grade nothingburger
Deaf education research has long been preoccupied with the literacy levels of deaf students, particularly related to the idea that the average deaf high schooler graduates reading on the fourth-grade level. This statistic has been a rationale for countless interventions aimed at improving a so-called performance gap between deaf and hearing students. However, this statistic has also caused harm to deaf individuals, as research continues to frame …
Understanding the context of mental health in deaf populations is important
This commentary highlights the importance of understanding mental health in deaf populations within the context of language development and access. The authors, who are all Deaf professionals, emphasize that language deprivation—not hearing loss directly—is a primary cause of many mental health issues in deaf communities, and advocate for the inclusion of deaf experts in research and publications concerning deaf individuals' mental health
Updates and current trends in deaf education teacher preparation programs
Deaf education teacher preparation programs (TPP) are essential for ensuring that teachers entering the classroom are equipped with the most up-to-date knowledge and skills for providing effective education to deaf and hard of hearing learners. However, research over a decade old already suggested that enrollment, graduation rates, and even numbers of programs has been on the decline even while demand for deaf education teachers remains steady. T…
What deaf readers can teach us about science of reading
The Science of Reading (SoR), recently popularized across media, academic, legislative, community, and educational platforms, continues to evolve in its meanings and applications. Perceptions of SoR range from being a multifaceted construct that incorporates various perspectives and some evidence, as articulated by Goodwin (in Heller, 2022. Taking stock of the science of reading: A conversation with Amanda Goodwin. Phi Delta Kappan, 103(8), 32–36…
Rejecting Competence – Essentialist Constructs Reproduce Ableism and White Supremacy in Linguistic Theory
As scholars who seek to decenter normative modes of language learning and use in (applied) linguistic theory and practice, and as individuals whose own language practices have been labeled as disordered and atypical, we read Flores and Rosa's undoing of competence in applied linguistics as a call for the rejection of competence and related essentialist constructs in linguistics. We begin with Flores and Rosa's argument that language boundaries (e…
Crip Linguistics Goes to School
Teachers of the deaf, signed language interpreters, and associated staff (e.g., secretaries and sanitation workers) are a salient part of a deaf child's community often because hearing parents and other family members of deaf children do not become proficient signers leading many deaf children and adults to feel alienated in the home environment (e.g., dinner table syndrome). Because the school environment provides another way for deaf children t…
Deaf Children’s ASL Vocabulary and ASL Syntax Knowledge Supports English Knowledge
The current study contributes empirical data to our understanding of how knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL) syntax aids reading print English for deaf children who are bilingual and bimodal in ASL and English print. The first analysis, a conceptual replication of Hoffmeister ( 2000), showed that performance on the American Sign Language Assessment Instrument correlated with the Sanford Achievement Test—Reading Comprehension (SAT-RC) and th…
Unsettling Languages, Unruly Bodyminds
People use languages in different ways. Some people use language to help find other people like them. Many people use language in specific ways because of how their body and mind work. Sometimes a person's environment and material conditions forces them to use language in a certain way. However, when someone languages outside of what people think is normal, others can think that they are bad with language or are not as smart or are broken. We are…
American Sign Language Interpreters in Public Schools
Acquisition of Sign Languages
Natural sign languages of deaf communities are acquired on the same time scale as that of spoken languages if children have access to fluent signers providing input from birth. Infants are sensitive to linguistic information provided visually, and early milestones show many parallels. The modality may affect various areas of language acquisition; such effects include the form of signs (sign phonology), the potential advantage presented by visual …
Recent Issues in the Use of Signed Language Assessments for Diagnosis of Language Disorders in Signing Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
In recent years, normed signed language assessments have become a useful tool for researchers, practitioners, and advocates. Nevertheless, there are limitations in their application, particularly for the diagnosis of language disorders, and learning disabilities. Here, we discuss some of the available normed, signed language assessments and some of their limitations. We have also provided information related to practices that should lead to impro…
The personal is political in The Deaf Mute Howls
This article builds on Carol Padden and Tom Humphries’ assertion that culturally identified deaf people inhabit a different center of knowledge than the non-deaf. Over generations of inhabiting a different center, deaf people have developed and transmitted embodied knowledge. The core of this knowledge is the role of sign language in developing language, cognition, and social structures. Modern fields of science search for truth by deconstructing…
The Development of Sensitivity to Grammatical Violations in American Sign Language
Factors influencing native and nonnative signers' syntactic judgment ability in American Sign Language (ASL) were explored for 421 deaf students aged 7;6-18;5. Predictors for syntactic knowledge were chronological age, age of entering a school for the deaf, gender, and additional learning disabilities. Mixed-effects linear modeling analysis revealed main effects of each predictor and an interaction between signing status and learning disability. …
Sign Language in Action by Jemina Napier and Lorraine Leeson
Unsettling Languages, Unruly Bodyminds
People use languages in different ways. Some people use language to help find other people like them. Many people use language in specific ways because of how their body and mind work. Sometimes a person's environment and material conditions forces them to use language in a certain way. However, when someone languages outside of what people think is normal, others can think that they are bad with language or are not as smart or are broken. We are…
The personal is political in The Deaf Mute Howls
This article builds on Carol Padden and Tom Humphries’ assertion that culturally identified deaf people inhabit a different center of knowledge than the non-deaf. Over generations of inhabiting a different center, deaf people have developed and transmitted embodied knowledge. The core of this knowledge is the role of sign language in developing language, cognition, and social structures. Modern fields of science search for truth by deconstructing…
Acquisition of Sign Languages
Natural sign languages of deaf communities are acquired on the same time scale as that of spoken languages if children have access to fluent signers providing input from birth. Infants are sensitive to linguistic information provided visually, and early milestones show many parallels. The modality may affect various areas of language acquisition; such effects include the form of signs (sign phonology), the potential advantage presented by visual …
Crip Linguistics Goes to School
Teachers of the deaf, signed language interpreters, and associated staff (e.g., secretaries and sanitation workers) are a salient part of a deaf child's community often because hearing parents and other family members of deaf children do not become proficient signers leading many deaf children and adults to feel alienated in the home environment (e.g., dinner table syndrome). Because the school environment provides another way for deaf children t…
The Development of Sensitivity to Grammatical Violations in American Sign Language
Factors influencing native and nonnative signers' syntactic judgment ability in American Sign Language (ASL) were explored for 421 deaf students aged 7;6-18;5. Predictors for syntactic knowledge were chronological age, age of entering a school for the deaf, gender, and additional learning disabilities. Mixed-effects linear modeling analysis revealed main effects of each predictor and an interaction between signing status and learning disability. …
Sign Language in Action by Jemina Napier and Lorraine Leeson
The personal is political in The Deaf Mute Howls
This article builds on Carol Padden and Tom Humphries’ assertion that culturally identified deaf people inhabit a different center of knowledge than the non-deaf. Over generations of inhabiting a different center, deaf people have developed and transmitted embodied knowledge. The core of this knowledge is the role of sign language in developing language, cognition, and social structures. Modern fields of science search for truth by deconstructing…
The Development of Sensitivity to Grammatical Violations in American Sign Language
Factors influencing native and nonnative signers' syntactic judgment ability in American Sign Language (ASL) were explored for 421 deaf students aged 7;6-18;5. Predictors for syntactic knowledge were chronological age, age of entering a school for the deaf, gender, and additional learning disabilities. Mixed-effects linear modeling analysis revealed main effects of each predictor and an interaction between signing status and learning disability. …
Recent Issues in the Use of Signed Language Assessments for Diagnosis of Language Disorders in Signing Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
In recent years, normed signed language assessments have become a useful tool for researchers, practitioners, and advocates. Nevertheless, there are limitations in their application, particularly for the diagnosis of language disorders, and learning disabilities. Here, we discuss some of the available normed, signed language assessments and some of their limitations. We have also provided information related to practices that should lead to impro…
American Sign Language Interpreters in Public Schools
Acquisition of Sign Languages
Natural sign languages of deaf communities are acquired on the same time scale as that of spoken languages if children have access to fluent signers providing input from birth. Infants are sensitive to linguistic information provided visually, and early milestones show many parallels. The modality may affect various areas of language acquisition; such effects include the form of signs (sign phonology), the potential advantage presented by visual …
Deaf Children’s ASL Vocabulary and ASL Syntax Knowledge Supports English Knowledge
The current study contributes empirical data to our understanding of how knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL) syntax aids reading print English for deaf children who are bilingual and bimodal in ASL and English print. The first analysis, a conceptual replication of Hoffmeister ( 2000), showed that performance on the American Sign Language Assessment Instrument correlated with the Sanford Achievement Test—Reading Comprehension (SAT-RC) and th…
Unsettling Languages, Unruly Bodyminds
People use languages in different ways. Some people use language to help find other people like them. Many people use language in specific ways because of how their body and mind work. Sometimes a person's environment and material conditions forces them to use language in a certain way. However, when someone languages outside of what people think is normal, others can think that they are bad with language or are not as smart or are broken. We are…
Rejecting Competence – Essentialist Constructs Reproduce Ableism and White Supremacy in Linguistic Theory
As scholars who seek to decenter normative modes of language learning and use in (applied) linguistic theory and practice, and as individuals whose own language practices have been labeled as disordered and atypical, we read Flores and Rosa's undoing of competence in applied linguistics as a call for the rejection of competence and related essentialist constructs in linguistics. We begin with Flores and Rosa's argument that language boundaries (e…
Crip Linguistics Goes to School
Teachers of the deaf, signed language interpreters, and associated staff (e.g., secretaries and sanitation workers) are a salient part of a deaf child's community often because hearing parents and other family members of deaf children do not become proficient signers leading many deaf children and adults to feel alienated in the home environment (e.g., dinner table syndrome). Because the school environment provides another way for deaf children t…
Preliminary development of the deaf childhood experiences scale
We describe here the initial creation and validation of a tool designed to quantify certain unique life experiences of deaf individuals. The Deaf Childhood Experiences Scale (DCES) aims to provide empirical data on uniquely deaf life factors with the long-term goal of better understanding education, health, and quality of life outcomes among deaf populations. The methodology involved a mixed-methods approach of qualitative interviews with deaf co…
Learning disability identification in residential schools for deaf students
Identifying specific learning disabilities in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students presents unique challenges due to various factors, including language access. This study utilized data from 810 students enrolled in schools for the deaf to examine the influence of gender, educational level, signing status, and vocabulary knowledge on specific learning disability identification or suspicion. The analysis revealed that male students, those in mi…
Tales of a fourth-grade nothingburger
Deaf education research has long been preoccupied with the literacy levels of deaf students, particularly related to the idea that the average deaf high schooler graduates reading on the fourth-grade level. This statistic has been a rationale for countless interventions aimed at improving a so-called performance gap between deaf and hearing students. However, this statistic has also caused harm to deaf individuals, as research continues to frame …
Understanding the context of mental health in deaf populations is important
This commentary highlights the importance of understanding mental health in deaf populations within the context of language development and access. The authors, who are all Deaf professionals, emphasize that language deprivation—not hearing loss directly—is a primary cause of many mental health issues in deaf communities, and advocate for the inclusion of deaf experts in research and publications concerning deaf individuals' mental health
Updates and current trends in deaf education teacher preparation programs
Deaf education teacher preparation programs (TPP) are essential for ensuring that teachers entering the classroom are equipped with the most up-to-date knowledge and skills for providing effective education to deaf and hard of hearing learners. However, research over a decade old already suggested that enrollment, graduation rates, and even numbers of programs has been on the decline even while demand for deaf education teachers remains steady. T…
What deaf readers can teach us about science of reading
The Science of Reading (SoR), recently popularized across media, academic, legislative, community, and educational platforms, continues to evolve in its meanings and applications. Perceptions of SoR range from being a multifaceted construct that incorporates various perspectives and some evidence, as articulated by Goodwin (in Heller, 2022. Taking stock of the science of reading: A conversation with Amanda Goodwin. Phi Delta Kappan, 103(8), 32–36…
Avoiding unintended consequences
Many U.S. policies inspired by the Science of Reading rest on two assumptions: (1) skilled reading always involves automatic mapping between written words and speech sounds, and (2) all children benefit from systematic instruction of phonological awareness and phonics. These assumptions are not wholly accurate, that they do not consider scientific evidence from deaf readers, and that policies based on these assumptions may be harmful to deaf chil…
Hearing Impairment and Communication (16 works) · Psychology (14 works) · Linguistics (11 works) · Sign language (9 works) · Hand Gesture Recognition Systems (6 works) · Mathematics education (6 works) · American Sign Language (5 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Inclusion and Disability in Education and Sport (4 works)