Total Communication

e [Music] how many boys are here I see one teacher and six boys here today right how how many boys five no this preschool class of deaf children is using total communication is here all were four years old at the beginning of the school year and all have profound hearing losses which have been present since birth total communication involves the use of speech speech reading sign language amplification Reading Writing writing and finger spelling total communication makes possible a more open and complete interaction between parents and their deaf child between teacher and child and between the deaf child and his peers what's with restriction of a child's natural attempts to communicate serves as a denial of his right to be hot face oh that's awful what happened yesterday okay picnic yes where inside here outside really it was raining windy yes you want to write about that do you want to Rite about that who fell fire toasted marshmallows you like that I here the classroom interaction is based heavily upon the personal involvement of the children the teacher and pupils function as a group even more importantly there is extensive student to teacher communication and student to student communication I can't hear you where's your voice all right put it in the fire first for little bit hold it in the [Applause] fire toasted candy yeah language grows out of Human Experience natural dialogue among very young deaf children is possible through total communication what else did you eat this enables the deaf child to cope with everyday emotions such as anger and fear in ways other than through temper Tantra these emotions and Abstract Concepts can be discussed among parent teacher and child eliminating the frustrations faced by deaf children when communication is [Music] restricted yes did they really shoot the car really the pi yeah right should I write that what should I write here about the picnic Miss Brew Baker was cross should we write that total communication places strong emphasis on speech as well as on the use of residual hearing and the highly visual language of science picnic picn you say that picnic picnic yes picnic same picnic picnic picnic yeah okay watch your Miss Bogner write you want to write about your sandwiches what well sandwiches sandwiches with not only in the classro but in the home total communication has major value the addition of sign language and finger spelling reinforces speech reading inside or outside this is true because signs describe the concepts and feelings being expressed this is of great importance in the family setting the parents who will be talking to us all have children who were born deaf and who are now 3 years of age or younger put him in these soundproof rooms and they tested him in there with sound and at the same time the sound they had a light and uh he would respond to the light but not the sound no matter how high they turned it so they went went from there at his young age determined he had about a 90% decibel loss I me he was less than 2 years old when we came down to Frederick in the preschool program and uh we went all over before in other states even and they didn't have any preschool till around five or even 6 years old and uh Frederick had one started well they took him right away they don't have any age limit they say younger they are the better they are and as fast as they catch on I agree with them real well now matter of fact The Young Ones can catch on faster than the older ones I found out later on in the program that uh this total communication was signed and speech he just picked it right up and no trouble at all communicating a baby learns to talk before they learn to read if they can hear Timmy could understand signs before he could understand lip reading and I feel that was the most helpful thing is learning the signs so that he could communicate with us and we could communicate with him and being sure he understood what you were saying was the most rewarding thing um we manage her behavior like giving the spankings when she needs spankings and having to go in her room when she need to go in her room and she responded real well when we give her uh this you know whenever she's wrong she don't think we doing her mean so nothing because she understand and she in the wrong she know that she's going to get something for we just found out around about a month ago that Cassandra need a glass she wasn't responding to uh paperwork and close work and uh we taking her at the doct and they began to tell us that Cassandra's farsighted after Cassandra received her glasses she began to do close work and she began to pay attention more my son noticed that Cassandra were babbling more he said Mommy Cassandra talking now I said yes Robert Cassandra's talking now I disciplined Timmy the same as I do Amy U sometimes maybe he doesn't always understand but we try to explain to him why he's being punished he he's treated just the same and U I feel that U they're both they're not treated any different and there's no difference in disappointing a non-hearing child a hearing child they're both children well with the three older ones and him we actually treat him just like one of the family cuz the whole the whole family's been to sign language class and they know what this total communication is and they all use it so we just don't even well we we even talk to him and holler at him sometimes and forget his death we just communicate with him just treat him like one of the family we don't right right yeah I mean like I say there's if he does something wrong he gets corrected just like anybody else we don't let him get by with anything like I said it was only about a year and a half and they couldn't talk anyway but with signs he could catch on and he grabbed a whole of signs and now also he goes to preschool up in Hager toown and they work on his speech more up there and he does sign and speech at the same time [Music] horse dog this is a test I want your best speech please okay watch that individual speech instruction and evaluation is an important regular part of a total communication program even for the most profoundly deaf child better okay wait look here before we read I want you to remember something is this right right what's wrong what oh voice I forgot my voice we made sandwiches with peanut butter and bread and jelly is that right what what's wrong sign yes sign together with voice same time okay ready okay c word [Music] [Applause] picnic we [Applause] sandwiches with peanut butter and bread and jelly jelly mhm [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] reer was Ross she [Applause] said what's that yes right sit down we finished eating eating then the teacher is sensitive to the responses of the children but does not dominate the classroom [Music] scene two [Music] Park yes that's the place with trees and the swing and flying board remember okay why did I SP Johnny John oh I remember yeah what was what was the name of that bridge the bridge here the children are learning from each other as you and I learned 95% of what we know Joey Randy and Scott are discussing a very complex activity of two days ago using signs gestures speech and mind this is the kind of abstract linguistic interchange possible between preschool deaf children using total communication this is why deaf people overwhelmingly support the concept of total communication [Music]