TITLE:
Growing up with Signing Exact English: The Lived Experiences of Deaf Adults
AUTHORS:
Amy Peterson-Diaz, Brianne L. Weber, M. Diane Clark
KEYWORDS:
Signing Exact English, Deaf, Literacy, Family Relationships
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.8,
August
17,
2026
ABSTRACT: Signing Exact English (SEE) has been one of the most widely used and debated manually coded English systems in Deaf education for over 50 years, yet little research has explored the perspectives of adults who grew up using it. This study explored the lived experiences of adults who grew up using SEE, uncovering themes focusing on family communication, educational experiences, language development, and later acquisition of American Sign Language (ASL). Thirty-two deaf and hard of hearing adults who grew up using SEE completed an online survey containing demographic questions and open-ended narrative prompts. Responses were analyzed thematically. Findings suggest that, for most participants in this study, SEE served as a path to English literacy and family connection, as well as a transition point to ASL.