Table 1.

Deaf participant demographics.

Subject	Sex	Age/years	Deaf family members	Cause of deafness	Age when diagnosed/years	Age of ASL acquisition*
1	M	47	parents, sister	genetic	<1	birth
2	F	47	parents, siblings (4th generation deaf family)	genetic	<1	birth
3	M	51	parents, siblings (4th generation deaf family)	genetic	<1	birth
4	F	28	parents (5th generation deaf family)	genetic	<1	birth
5	F	24	older sister	unknown	2	birth
6	M	45	hard-of-hearing sisters	one ear deaf at birth, unknown cause. Mumps at 10 months deafened other ear	<1	1 year
7	F	23	none	Kniest dysplasia	<1	1 year
8	F	29	none	spinal meningitis	1	1 year
9	M	29	none	unknown	1	1 year
10	F	35	none	unknown	1.5	Chinese SL: 3 years ASL: adult
11	F	30	none	unknown	3	4 years
12	F	26	none	unknown	1.5	SEE: 3 years ASL: 5 years

Notes:

^*Deaf individuals with deaf parents or older siblings were exposed to ASL at home from birth. For deaf individuals without deaf family members, the age at which they began learning ASL is listed. This usually took place at deaf community centers and deaf schools.

SEE = Signed Exact English. Chinese SL = Chinese sign language—this participant was fluent in ASL as an adult. All deaf participants used ASL daily as their primary means of communication.