Signs Used in Manual Communication Training with Persons Having Severe Communication Impairment

An examination of 20 manuals designed to teach sign communication to persons with severe communication impairment revealed over 850 words appearing in two or more manuals. These words are listed in alphabetical order with their frequency of occurrence. The list is designed to show what is being taught, not what should be taught. Because it is empirically based, it is thought to represent parents', teachers', and clinicians' ideas about which signs are most needed, and it should be of aid to persons designing similar basic sign vocabularies and to persons who wish to do research concerning early sign training for similar individuals.