How locally developed AI tools are helping parents of Deaf children learn ASL

Описание: The first five years of a child’s life are crucial for language development — shaping cognitive abilities, enhancing communication skills, and supporting social interactions. Within the Deaf community, 90 percent of Deaf children are born to hearing parents. Their child may be the first Deaf person a parent ever meets. Supporting hearing parents to gain fluency in American Sign Language (ASL) can have a significant benefit on language development for deaf and hard of hearing children. University of Rochester researchers Zhen Bai and Wyatte Hall are developing AI-powered, augmented reality tools to help parents of Deaf children learn ASL. They’ve been working with the Deaf community to develop and test the software, including early collaborations with the Rochester School of the Deaf. Guest host Sarah Abbamonte explores the new technology and its implications with the team. In studio:

• Zhen Bai, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Rochester
• Wyatte Hall, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, the Center for Community Health and Prevention, Neurology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pediatrics, Neonatology at the University of Rochester Medical Center
• Karen Fisher-Malley, director of early childhood programs and Kindergarten at the Rochester School for the Deaf
• Byron Behm, ASL interpreter

0:00 Introduction
3:35 What is the Tabletop Interactive Play System (TIPS) program?
7:43 How TIPS technology works
10:29 Feedback and evolution of TIPS
12:43 Early collaboration and development
18:00 Challenges in developing TIPS
20:16 Importance of early language access for deaf children
22:01 Ethical collaboration with the deaf community
25:03 Understanding ASL vs. spoken languages
28:07 Helping families learn ASL
31:28 AI tools for learning ASL
36:44 Family and community engagement
39:03 Future directions for TIPS
42:04 Expanding TIPS applications
43:17 Addressing physical disabilities in ASL
45:09 Joint attention and language development
48:07 Ongoing research and community feedback
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