The concept of total communication is being increasingly incorporated into educational programs for the deaf. Because American Sign Language plays a basic role in the deaf community, it must also be a critical part of education for deaf children. (Author/CL)

Intended to raise researchers' and teachers' awareness of fingerspelling as an important part of signed communication, a study examined its use with deaf children in the classroom. Five trained teachers of the deaf, participating in a demonstration total communication project in a public school in the Midwest, were videotaped in their own…

Suggestions are offered to help hearing teachers use effective nonverbal techniques in conjunction with signing when communicating information to hearing impaired students. Topics discussed include use of discourse markers, ways of maintaining eye contact, gaining/maintaining student attention, and effective turn-taking. (JW)

This paper considers theory and research on identity development in deaf children and concludes that the exclusively oral method of instruction is not conducive to healthy identity development. The importance of interpersonal communication in identity development from the viewpoints of both sociological and psychoanalytical theories of identity is…

Discussed are various aspects of the "total communication" concept of deaf education that have been neglected, including diagnosis, teacher certification, amplification, voice and sign, speechreading, speech teaching and development, and skill in sign language. (DLS)

Videotapes of simultaneous communication users were analyzed by three sign language professionals. Successful simultaneous communication was characterized by clear lip movement, fingerspelling of ambiguous signs, eye contact, communication of mood and attitude, modality match, and grammatical facial expression. Matching the semantically…

A follow-up was done on a 1976 survey of communication trends in schools and programs for the hearing impaired in the U.S. Although a lower response rate made direct comparison of numbers impossible, the percentage of classes using the various communication modes was consistent with the earlier study. (Author/CL)

This study examined the correspondence between spoken English and Australasian Signed English when used simultaneously by four teachers of deaf Australian students. The teachers were more than 90 percent accurate in reproducing on their hands what they were saying but at some cost to the oral aspects of the simultaneous communication. (Author/JDD)

Simultaneous communication used by four teachers in formal lessons was investigated, to determine the extent to which signs and speech matched and to delineate factors predicting communication behavior. Simultaneous communication was found to be sign-driven or speech-driven depending on factors such as student comprehension, teacher's expertise,…

This paper discusses the role of American Sign Language (ASL) in educating deaf children, based on the history of using manually coded English (MCE). The paper concludes that use of ASL should not be the ultimate goal of bilingual bicultural programs, and, in some classrooms, the optimal program will be complementary use of ASL and MCE. (JDD)

This digest discusses hearing loss in children. Topics covered include: (1) the causes of hearing loss and the three major types of hearing losses, conductive loss, sensorineural loss, and central auditory processing disorder; (2) the federal definitions of "deaf" (hearing loss which adversely affects educational performance and which is…

This article summarizes a paper by Robert E. Johnson et al., "Unlocking the Curriculum: Principles for Achieving Access in Deaf Education." The paper examines the failure of total communication practices to educate deaf children and recommends that deaf children learn American Sign Language first and learn English as a second language. (JDD)

Historical and current trends, practices, and perspectives regarding manual communication in educating deaf children are discussed, including Manually Coded English systems and American Sign Language. Issues concerning choice of sign language/systems and instructional strategies that support sign usage (such as Total Communication, Simultaneous…

This paper proposes new policies which stress making explicit the roles of sign communication and speech in total communication programs for students with hearing impairments. A review of the literature supports the need to redefine total communication, provide improved preservice and in-service training of teachers in effective communication…

This paper argues that current practices in total communication classrooms have basically assigned the responsibility of communication to hearing-impaired students who must adapt to the variation in communication behaviors displayed by each of their teachers. The paper advocates use of a model communication and language policy designed to…