Sign Language Research
If you are, or know someone, who is a deaf signer who has had a stroke
- Or if you are a deaf signer between the ages of 45-85
- Or if you are a deaf signer of deaf parents between 18 to 45
- Click here for special Fall 2015 offer
Contact the Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience by one of the following:
- Fill out the form below
- call the videophone (858) 768-0476
- e-mail Cindy Farnady and Svenna Pedersen at DeafStroke@salk.edu
Please click here for video translation»
Hello, my name is Cindy O'Grady Farnady, and I'm Svenna Pedersen. We are both ASL researchers at Salk Institute's Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience in La Jolla, California. Currently, our research focuses on Sign Language and the brain. We focus on the effects of stroke on sign language.
For our research, we need to find people that are:
- Deaf
- Grew up signing
- Have had a stroke
If you fit our criteria or know someone who does, please contact us.
Our goal is to increase awareness of the needs for the Deaf community and its sign language rehabilitation treatments. For example, hearing people with stroke have speech therapy whereas the Deaf have none. With your participation, we the team of Deaf and hearing researchers can better understand the effects of stroke on sign language by spreading awareness of the importance for sign language therapy.
To join our study, be assured that any information obtained about you during your participation in our studies is confidential. After having you contact us, we will schedule for a confidential interview that will take about an hour to two with understanding that it is possible for further contact. You will be compensated for your time.
When a hearing person has a stroke and develops language difficulties,
speech therapy is a tool
to help improve or recover their language. Speech therapy does not help Deaf signers who have had a stroke. No other therapy is available to improve their language. Our hope is to change that, but we need your help to understand how brain injuries affect Deaf signers. With your participation, we can achieve this goal together.
