Testimonials & Research

Introduction

In 2009 ASL Friends, Inc. (formerly ASL Readers, Inc.) collaborated with Brenda Schick, Ph.D. Brenda.Schick@colorado.edu at the University of Colorado to evaluate the pilot Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with American Sign Language DVD(MRN/ASL DVD).  In this episode ASL is modeled through native Deaf signers.  Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was selected to be a home ASL language model for young deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their hearing families.  Fred Rogers based his programming on child development and early education principles.  He carefully communicated meaningful messages about each person's uniqueness, helping children come to appreciate that they are special—and so is everyone else in the world.  While Mister Rogers' Neighborhood provides closed captioning, youngsters between the ages of three and five years old are often unable to read. 

Purpose

To evaluate the pilot Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with American Sign Language DVD (MRN/ASL DVD) and determine the need for future productions.

Method

Schools for the deaf across the nation were contacted and asked to participate.  Participating schools received a complimentary pilot Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with American Sign Language DVD for their media centers.  National Family Surveys were distributed at schools for the deaf.  Hearing parents were asked to view the MRN/ASL DVD with their deaf or hard-of-hearing children aged three to eight years and complete a 2-page survey. 

Subjects

Of the 190 surveys distributed to 38 schools, 78 families returned surveys from 23 schools for a return rate of 41%.  The Ohio School for the Deaf completed additional surveys.  The regional representation included: 40% South, 23% Northeast, 23% Midwest, and 14% West.  [See Regions Graph]

There were 46 girls and 32 boys between the ages of 3 and 8 years with hearing loss. The average age of the child respondents was 5 years 9 months.  Fifty-nine percent of the children were described as ASL being their first language, 27% identified English, 9% ASL/English, and 5% blank.   The child reading levels were described as 31% Word level, 29% ABCs/123s, 23% Sentences, 9% Paragraphs, and 8% blank.  Parents rated their own signing skills on average as 1.6, Beginning to Intermediate on a scale of 1-3 (1=Beginning  2=Intermediate  3=Advance).

Results

The following deciding factors helped determined the need for future Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with American Sign Language programming:

Parent Feedback

The following are parent recommendations for improving the program:  

• slower signing
• less fading in and out of the signers
• dress each Deaf signer in character costume
• provide each character and puppet a different Deaf signer
• rename the "Character" section: "Name Signs"
• provide an ASL Guide for families to work on vocabulary

Some parents also noted that they would rather see more up-to-date programs and reasonably priced ASL DVDs in the market.     

Additional Parent Comments

"I'm so thankful for this program!"

"Helped the whole family learn signs"

"My child really enjoyed the program and wants to watch more!"

"Thank you for working to make the program more accessible to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing families."

Family Communication

Families learned over 70 signs from this 30-minute program.  The top five signs learned included:  neighborhood, costume, sew, suitcase, and love.  The overall favorite segment was the Bear Factory.  Seventy-five percent of children initiated communication with their parent regarding the program, 23% did not, and 2% blank.  The most popular topic of discussion was the Bear Factory (30), followed by the Neighborhood of Make-Believe (21). 

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

When questioned about the original Mister Rogers' Neighborhood program without sign language, 70% of children did not watch the program and 22% of families did not respond.  Of the 8% who watch the program, six view it monthly.  Three parents interpret the program for their child, three do not.  Forty-one percent of families knew the program was closed captioned, 54% did not, and 5% did not respond.  Ninety-five percent of families did not know of the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Plan & Play Book.  Ninety-four percent of families have never visited the The Fred Rogers Company website.

Additional Data

The children described Sponge Bob (18) as their favorite program, followed by Dora the Explorer (9), and Tom & Jerry (7).  The overwhelming favorite child's favorite ASL DVD or website was Signing Times (24)  The question "How many additional deaf/hard-of-hearing members live in the household?" was omitted due to misinterpretation.

Recommendations

Based on the favorable results from hearing families with young deaf and hard-of-hearing children, it is recommended that future episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood with American Sign Language be produced.  The next Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ASL Friends production will be one-week of programming or 5, 30-minute episodes.  Each week of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is a theme of childhood such as "Love," "Anger," "Friends," etc. 

We are deeply grateful to the parents, children, and school representatives who took time to participate in this National Survey.

Kim Nussbaum, M.Ed
ASL Friends, Inc.

Brenda Schick, Ph.D
University of Colorado

Participating Schools

ASL Friends, Inc. would like to thank the following participating schools:

• Alabama School for the Deaf and Blind
• Alaska State School for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing
• American School for the Deaf*
• Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind
• Arkansas School for the Deaf
• California School for the Deaf, Riverside
• Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
• Georgia School for the Deaf
• Hawaii Center for the Deaf and Blind
• Idaho School for the Deaf
• Illinois School for the Deaf
• Indiana School for the Deaf
• Iowa School for the Deaf
• Kansas State School for the Deaf
• Kentucky School for the Deaf
• Las Vegas Charter School for the Deaf
• Louisiana School for the Deaf
• Michigan School for the Deaf
• Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf
• Mississippi School for the Deaf
• Missouri School for the Deaf
• New Mexico School for the Deaf
• North Dakota School for the Deaf
• Ohio School for the Deaf
• Oklahoma School for the Deaf
• Oregon School for the Deaf
• Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
• Rhode Island School for the Deaf
• Rocky Mountain Deaf School
• South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind
• South Dakota School for the Deaf
• Tennessee School for the Deaf
• Texas School for the Deaf
• The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing
• Utah School for the Deaf and Blind
• Virginia School for the Deaf
• Washington School for the Deaf
• West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind
• Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf

*Data collected prior to study.