This paper discusses historical and contemporary issues regarding communication approaches for educating Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children in Ghana. Discussion of the communication approaches took into account a brief historical background to the development of formal education for DHH children in the country, academic achievement of DHH…

All children have the right to education that meets their needs and aims to enable them full integration in their society. Education should guarantee all children an equal chance to actively participate in society regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or disability (Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989). Yet sophisticated mechanisms within…

Sixteen deaf persons using total communication or sign language and 10 deaf persons using oral communication were administered the Test of Communication Skills (which measures information context and message class) in their preferred modality. Results showed that total communication was a more effective communication method under the testing…

Findings of a study involving two groups of teachers of the deaf (those who used oral language only and those who used total communication) revealed no differences in teachers' use of nonliteral language. Reduced use of idiomatic language occurred in both oral and sign communication, only when total communication was used. (CL)

The article reviews a study of interactions among deaf children, their parents and teachers which points out the need for developing early and ongoing contact with the deaf community. It is stressed that English and American Sign Language be given equal status in the classroom. (CL)

It is argued that Oralism and Total Communication underestimate the profound nature of deafness and the potential value of fundamental research. The evolution of these philosophies is described, and changes in philosophy are discussed. (Author)

Three groups of teachers (10 regular teachers talking to 10 normally hearing students, 10 teachers of the deaf using oral communication to oral deaf children, and teachers of the deaf talking and signing with children taught through a manually coded English system) were videotaped in spontaneous conversation and a storytelling task. Children were…

The gap between oral and manual production of the 159 profoundly deaf children in total communication programs indicated that spoken English did not develop simultaneously with manually coded English and that Ss educated in programs using manually coded English did not develop competence with early developing English syntax faster than those not…

Fourteen deaf elementary children (eight from total communication and six from oral classes) and seven non-hearing-impaired peers were given tasks designed to elicit spontaneous language. Results favored hearing children on all measures. When comparing the two deaf groups, few differences emerged in measures of verbal output and communicativeness.…

Discusses the implications of deafness for cognition and describes communicative systems (the oral method and sign language) for the deaf. Holds that parents of deaf children should teach them both signing and speaking. (GC)

The study investigated the use of phonological encoding and chunking strategies (the skimming and clustering of highly familiar material into meaningful units) with congenitally deaf students at the middle and upper levels of an oralist school as well as hearing students at the second, third, fourth, fifth, and college grade levels. Ss were asked…

The study examined the relationship of cognitive style (reflection-impulsivity) to communication mode (oral or total) with 72 deaf and hearing children at two age levels: 6-10 years and 11-15 years. Results indicated deaf children and younger children were more impulsive than hearing or older children. No differences between oral and total…

This study examines the receptive skills of severely deaf subjects employing either oral or total modes of communication in the comprehension of a wide range of syntactical and semantic structures. For almost all types of structures investigated, the total system was found to be the more effective method of communication. (Author/SJL)

The clinical records of 31 severely hearing impaired children (6 to 13 years old) who had attended a preschool nursery program were examined to determine which factors would predict aural/oral success. (Author)

Summarizes a discussion on cochlear implants from a National Institutes of Health conference. Reviews the cited benefits of the implants in children. Gives comments on research on the language performance of children who are deaf or hearing impaired in oral programs versus those in total communication programs, as well as dissenting opinions on…