Nicaraguan Sign Language arose fifteen years ago when hundreds of previously isolated deaf individuals were brought together in schools for the first time as the result of an educational reform movement dedicated to providing literacy training. In 1986, at the request of the Nicaraguan Ministry Of Education, linguist Dr. Judy Shepard-Kegl traveled to Managua where she evaluated the sign language phenomenon that was occurring in the school system. It was evident that even though the official philosophy at that time was to teach lip reading rather than sign language, students were communicating...