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.…

This is a selection of papers that have appeared in the journal "Sign Language Studies" between 1972 and 1979. The aim is to provide the reader with some knowledge of the world as signers see it. The book is for academic decision-makers, teachers and parents of deaf students, as well as the intellectually curious. Following an introductory essay,…

Investigated were aspects of language development (association, memory, comprehension, and production) in three groups (50 individuals per group) of deaf adolescents who were variously trained by the pure oral method, the combined oral-manual method, and the Rochester fingerspelling method. One hearing group was matched with the deaf in age, and…

The study measured hearing-impaired (N=106) students' reception of language presented via five modes: oral, aural, manual, oral-aural;, and simultaneous manual and oral. The simultaneous manual and oral and the manual modes received the highest ratings. Results are discussed in terms of theories of cognitive processing and selective attention.…

A longitudinal study of the effect of mothers' communication modes on the language development of children (N=149) with severe or profound hearing loss indicated that children whose mothers used oral communication had higher scores on measures of spoken language, whereas children whose mothers used manual communication had higher scores on…

Questions asked by parents of 12 young hearing children were compared with those asked by hearing parents of 17 preschoolers with deafness who used various linguistic input models (i.e., oral English only, cued speech, signed/manual English). Similar parent questioning strategies were found among groups matched for mean length of utterance.…

A mother of a deaf child recounts her earlier commitment to an oralist position, her gradual realization that she was asking her child to do the impossible, and the child's rapid acquisition of language when allowed and encouraged to use signs. The importance of hearing parents learning sign language is stressed. (DB)

The use of total communication in educating deaf preschool and elementary school students in the Santa Ana Program for the Hearing Impaired, Orange County, California, is described. Total communication is explained to consist of auditory training, speech, speechreading, fingerspelling, and the language of signs. Aspects of the program described…

Presented is the third year interim report of a 4-year longitudinal study comparing effectiveness of seven preschool programs which serve approximately 69 deaf children. Schools are seen to emphasize either an oral-aural, Rochester (oral-aural plus fingerspelling), or total communication approach to language development. Reported are the following…

The results of study in England and Wales to determine the place of fingerspelling and signing in deaf education are reported. The scope and procedure of the inquiry, its context, the meaning of terms, the linguistic quality methods of communication, variable factors likely to affect the attainments of children with impaired hearing, and present…

This article discusses principles for intervention with young children who have hearing impairments. It covers the nature of hearing loss; diagnosis and types of hearing impairments; sensory aids; and benefits and limitations of different approaches including the auditory-verbal, auditory-oral, cued speech, total communication, American Sign…