Deaf Education

DEAF EDUCATION
There are many different educational approaches today. Each approach gives children access to language. The choices parents make as to which method their child will use is very important. Deafness can be confirmed at 2 1/2 years of age, but most children aren't tested until much later which causes problems. When parents are informed later they are told that they need to make decisions right away about their child's education, but a lot of the time these decisions are very hard to make because the parents minds are still stuck on the fact that they have a deaf child. There are many conflicting views as to which is the best method to use in educating the deaf. All have positives and negatives.

1. Bilingual Bicultural-

In this educational approach the student develops American Sign Language as their primary language with English as a secondary language. ASL is usually taught first with English being the child's second language. This mostly has to do with the reading/ writing parts of class. This approach however is not available in many places. Most bilingual bicultural programs are only offered in residential schools. Some parents pair ASL with cued speech instead.

2. Auditory Oral-

These programs teach children to listen and to talk by using their residual hearing or remaining hearing. They combine hearing technology with intensive early intervention. A great emphasis in this approach is on speech and speech reading. The overall goal of the program is to eventual mainstream the children. Early intervention is very important if a parent decides on this educational approach. Good training is also very important. Approximately 30% of the programs in the USA are oral, yet there are only 3 residential schools. A lot of schools have a mixture of oral programs with other programs, hardly any have purely oral programs. Parents must be really involved for this method to work because they are the main teacher, enforcing language use all day long. Challenges of this program are that very little improvement is shown in the first few years and it is a lot of hard work for all involved including teachers, students, and parents. Cost is also a problem along with quality. Oral programs have not been recommended for the profoundly deaf.More Info

3. Auditory Verbal- These programs promote growing up and living in regular classrooms and enviornments. This program only trains the students to use their residual hearing. The goal is to mainstream the children making them more independent. Children are given hearing aids very early and also trained to speechread. Speech reading is hard to learn due to the percentage of english sounds visible on the lips along with words which look like something else. Students learn to use context and situation to guess at words. The great benefit of this approach is the ability to communicate with the English speaking world. Drawbacks lie unfortunately in the lack of programsMore Info, or Auditory Verbal Article

4. Total Communication-

This program uses any means of communication necessary to fit the child. This includes sign language, oral communication, writing, gestures, mime, and pictures. Speech and listening skills are stressed in this approach. The benefit of this approach is that if a child is having problems with an oral method, then they still have sign as a backup. A disadvantage however is that it tends to limit the quality each child has with a language. They are never proficient in ASL or English and never grasp the complex topics in each.More Info

5. Cued Speech-

This is a visual communication system that children can use. They use their hands to make shapes while making mouth movements in order to see the sounds of spoken language and differentiate between them. Dr. Orin Cornett invented it in 1966 at Gallaudet University. (17) In the American version there are 8 hand shapes and 4 locations around the mouth to make those shapes in. The goal by using these is to eliminate any speechreading ambiguity. The benefits of this approach are that it can be learned very quickly. People can usually learn it in a weekend. This can be used while parents are learning ASL. Cued speech is also a way to keep parents from oversimplifying what they say to their kids. Many times parents leave out adjectives and such because they don't know how to sign them. This does not help the children to learn language. More info, or Cued Speech Article

7. American Sign Language(ASL)-

This is a language designed for the hearing impaired because it is completely visual. The advantages are that it provides a great language base for children and is also quick and easy so that communicating with others isn't a chore. The disadvantages however, is that there is no written form. This means that people using this language will never be able to read their history. The only way to transcribe their history would be to take videos of it. If speaking is not an option it is also important to be able to write especially in a mainly english speaking country. Seeking employment will be easier this way.

Animated Dictionary of ASL Terms

American Sign Language Teachers Association

Lesson Tutor in ASL

English-Based Sign Systems

8. Manual Codes for English-

The purpose of manual codes is to visually show spoken English. Literacy in English is the goal. These codes use speaking and signing simultaneously. These systems are easier for parents and teachers to learn, however, the signs take a long time making sentences extremely long. Different kinds of manual codes include:

Signing Exact English (SEE-2)- this code parallels the number of signs with the number of morphemes. This is a literal way of communicating, but often the children miss concepts. Signed English- This is also a code system in which people speak and sign at the same time. English words remain in the same order as if they were spoken. The youngest children usually begin with this approach.

Contact Sign- This is a way to communicate with a person who speaks a different language. It is a natural way to communicate like when asking for food pointing to one's mouth and pretending to eat. This type isn't taught. The only purpose is to understand one another.

References:

Calderon, Rosemary. (2000). Parental Involvement in Deaf Children's Education Programs as a Predictor of Child's Language, Early Reading, and Social-Emotional Development. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education,5,140-155.

Smith, David & Ramsey, Claire. ( 2004). Classroom Discourse Practices of a Deaf Teacher Using American Sign Language. Sign Language Studies, 5,1.

Zapien, Cheryl. (1998) "Options in Deaf Education - History, Methodologies, and Strategies for Surviving the System" March 6 2005. Page Not Found

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