Editing Signing Exact English (section)

==History==
Before 1970, Deaf children had access to "oral-only" education, where teachers and other adults did not use sign in the classroom.  Around the early 1970s, sign began to be used more as an educational tool in "[[Total Communication|total communication]]" classrooms. ASL had only recently been recognized as a language and forms of [[Manually Coded English]] had just been invented. Three main reasons served as grounds for the invention of Manually Coded English, Signing Exact English (SEE), in particular. At the time, there was dissatisfaction with the levels of educational achievement of Deaf children, as difficulties with syntax and morphology were limiting their writing skills. In addition, a discrepancy between hearing and Deaf children in regards to knowledge of normal language development was noted. Lastly, concerns rose in regards to speech reading and the ambiguities of relying solely on speech reading.<ref>Gustaston, G. (1990). Signing exact english. In H. Bornstein (Ed.) Manual Communication: Implications for Education. (pp. 108-127). Washington, D.C. Galluadet University Press.</ref> With growing concern over the low levels of literacy and other academic skills attained by the majority of Deaf students, manually coded sign systems began to develop. The first manual English System (SEE-I) was developed by David Anthony, a Deaf teacher, with input from other Deaf educators as well as parents of Deaf children. This is known today as the Morphemic Sign Systems (MSS). This system was viewed as inadequate by other members of Anthony's team and Gerilee Gustason, a Deaf woman and Deaf educator, along with other members of the original SEE-I team developed SEE-II.<ref>Nielsen, D.C., Luetke, B., Stryker, D.S. (2011). The importance of morphemic awareness to reading achievement and the potential of signing morphemes to supporting reading development. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 16(3)</ref> SEE-II was devised to give Deaf and hard of hearing children the same English communicative potential as their typically hearing peers. First published in 1972 by Gustasen, Pfetzing, and Zawolkow,<ref name="Luetke" /> SEE-II matches visual signs with the grammatical structure of English. Unlike ASL, which is a real language and has its own unique grammar system, SEE-II is intended to be an exact visual model of spoken English and allows children with hearing loss to access grammatically correct English, just as all hearing children receive in educational settings. SEE employs English word order, the addition of affixes and tenses, the creation of new signs not represented in ASL and the use of initials with base signs to distinguish between related English words.<ref>Gustaston, G. (1990). Signing Exact English. In H. Bornstein (Ed.) Manual Communication: Implications for Education. (pp. 108-127). Washington, D.C. Galluadet University Press.</ref> SEE-II is available in books and other materials. SEE-II includes roughly 4,000 signs, 70 of which are common word endings or markers. In comparison to Signed English, SEE-II involves more advanced motoric and cognitive functions.<ref>Glennen, S., & DeCoste, D.C. (1997). The handbook of augmentative and alternative communication. Cengage Learning.</ref>