Without written forms, signed languages do not permit the type of textual record available to speakers of English and other written languages. Deaf signers have generally relied on the language of the dominant hearing culture for this purpose. Because of their visual-gestural modality, signed languages present a unique set of challenges for developing written forms. These issues are considered from a behavioral perspective, and two sign language notation systems, Stokoe Notation and Sutton SignWriting, are described. (Contains 3 figures and 2 footnotes.)