An experimental assessment of visual attention and sign language comprehension in ADHD and neurotypical second language learners of American Sign Language

Sign language requires the perceiver’s visual attention, whether accessed in the foveal or peripheral vision; managing visual attention in real-world conversation is a skill second language (L2) sign learners may need practice to master. This task may be a challenge for an individuals with differences in visual attentional processing, such as those with ADHD, but little research on atypical signed L2 learners exists to date. This report introduces a novel online experiment to investigate visuo-attentional differences in hearing, L2 signers of American Sign Language while undergoing signed language comprehension. Participants attempt to rapidly perceive both linguistic and non-linguistic visual stimuli in their immediate and periphery vision while attending to a visual anchor. A small analysis of L2 signers finds a robust effect of the attentional manipulation (distance from stimulus to anchor), but conflicting evidence for sensitivity to linguistic factors such as sign complexity, sign frequency, and the difference between signed language and non-linguistic gestural stimuli. Importantly, this task is demonstrated to be successful at probing visuo-attentional mechanisms in a sign language processing context, and will be suitable for a test population between neurotypical and ADHD L2 ASL learners. Further, the results suggest that even somewhat experienced L2 signers may be relying on general perceptual, rather than specific linguistic, processes for sign and sign-like stimulus processing, which serves important implications for L2 signed language learners of all neurotypes.