The book reports on a descriptive study of communicative strategies used by 15 deaf preschoolers. Video recording with simultaneous direct observations were made once a month in a kindergarten for deaf and hearing children. Children were observed during periods from .5 to 2 years. Descriptions of communicative strategies are based on second-by-second transcriptions and analyses from video recordings of the children's use of nonverbal and verbal behaviors in interactions with others. Analysis revealed differences in the way the early sign language (ESL) and late sign language (LSL) users communicated. ESL Ss paid attention to partners in dialogues and joint activities while LSL Ss did not pay attention to the same extent. ESL Ss used signs accompanied by a sophisticated pattern of nonverbal behaviors while LSL Ss used signs in dialogues but also used many gross, sometimes exaggerated, nonverbal expressions as substitutes for formal signs. ESL Ss modified their way of communicating depending on the partner's possibilities while LSL Ss did not. Conclusions are offered regarding the importance of giving the deaf child an opportunity to acquire a language spontaneously via the visual-gestural channel. (CL)