Heta Pietarinen

In my dissertation research, I study the narrative skills of 4-11 year old children who acquire Finnish Sign Language. The aim is to examine which factors in the child's language environment influence language development. The research data includes deaf and hearing children of deaf and hearing parents. The aim of the study is to provide an overall picture of language development in children. The results can be used to assess language skills, to support language development in rehabilitation and teaching, and to develop curricula and teaching materials.