Different Methods of Communication for the Deaf

Decisions regarding the choice of teaching method most suitable for your child are difficult because in order to be effective, they must be made early and for the long-term. Frequent changes in methodology either due to your indecision or the school’s inconsistency deny your child the stable environment so crucial to his future development.

The choice of methodology is two-fold:

1. Oral Communication
2. Sign Language Communication

The main difference between these two methodologies lies in the importance given to speech. Oral communication is committed to the development of listening and speech skills in hearing impaired children. Children are encouraged to express themselves by talking and using natural gestures but they are discouraged from using any signs. There are different teaching methods within Oral Communication and these range from the development of listening skills exclusively, without the assistance of lip-reading (as in The Acoupedic Approach) to those that encourage the development of listening skills supplemented by lip-reading (as in The Auditory Oral Approach) as the means to generate language and speech in hearing impaired children.

Indian Sign Language is as full fledged a language like any spoken language however the language is visual rather than auditory. It is used by over five million deaf adults in India. Proponents of sign language believe that hearing impaired children should be allowed to express themselves through a medium that they have full access to (visual) rather than auditory since deaf people are unable to learn spoken language in the same manner as hearing people do. Proponents of sign language believe that language is a more important factor than good speech. Proponents of sign language argue that speech is only one component of language and reading and writing skills are as important. Everyday communication and education to the child is provided exclusively in sign language and speech training is taken up in special sessions with a speech therapist. Just as each country has its own spoken language, complete with its rules and grammar, so also sign language has its own characteristic vocabulary, grammar and idioms. Sign language used within India is known as Indian Sign Language or ISL. Sign language used in the USA and Canada is known as ASL.

ISL is systematized within India and its signs consist of hand shapes, hand positions and movements which can be uniformly expressed and understood within our country. It also uses space, direction, speed of movements and facial expressions to convey meaning. Proper nouns (such as names) and certain words have no specific sign and so sign language users use Finger Spelling to spell out these words.

Finger spelling can be described as writing in the air. Each letter of the alphabet has a corresponding hand shape or sign. In education, finger spelling is sometimes used as the main means of communication, together with spoken English.

When sign language users use a combination of speech, signs and finger spelling to communicate, it is known as Simultaneous Communication. The advantage of Simultaneous Communication is that it offers the benefit of seeing two forms of a message at the same time: the hearing impaired person lip reads what is being said and simultaneously reads the signs and finger spelling of the speaker. Users of Simultaneous Communication claim that this makes for easier communication.

Cued Speech was developed later as a means of combining the advantages of both Oral and Visual Communication. It seeks to remove the confusion caused in lip reading sounds that look alike on the lips (e.g. “p” and “b” or “t” and “d”) by supplementing talking with specific hand shapes and positions for these individual sounds. These cues help clarify potentially confusing look-alike words, such as “cot” and “got” thus improving overall communication.

It is important to clarify at this point, the meaning of Total Communication, which is often misunderstood. Total Communication (or TC) is a philosophy of acceptance which uses all possible methods of communication to assist a hearing impaired child acquire language and understand speech. Therefore TC does not refer to any particular teaching method but instead refers to the adoption of an open attitude in teaching hearing impaired children.

Before deciding on methodology, it is important that you read articles and books explaining some basic theory and then visit schools in your city/town that seeks to implement the method of your choice. We will be happy to give you some basic information in this regard.

Arguments about methods of teaching hearing impaired children continue among professionals but you should not allow yourself to get trapped into defending one method against another. You are not looking for “the perfect methodology”. Instead you are looking for a method of teaching which will be most suited to your child’s needs and which will allow you to participate most actively.

Our Way Of Working

At IHF we believe that infants born with a hearing loss are similar to hearing infants in more ways than they are different from them. This is the basic principle on which our entire educational programme is based.

In our work with you, we will encourage you to behave and talk with your hearing impaired child as though he were a hearing baby, making certain adjustments that would ensure more effective communication for both of you. This would generate spontaneous conversation between you and your child. Fundamental to this aural habilitation method is the development of good listening habits in your child; a process that you will be actively involved in. It is important that your child grows he develops clear speech and natural speech rhythm.

The process of developing good language and speech skills in your child is a slow one and its pace is set by your child. Every child has his own pace of growth and will give you clear signals when he is ready for the next step. We will help you recognize these signals but to push your child too hard in an effort to make him learn faster is a bad mistake which both of you will later regret. Allow your child the joys of a happy, relaxed childhood and help him make a successful transition to life with his hearing friends, when he is ready for it.

Every child is special in his own way and we believe that our hearing impaired infants are special too. What set each child apart are not his intelligence or speech skills but the extent to which he is a complete personality. Our work with your child is aimed at helping him achieve this potential, through the combined efforts of our Counselor, Audiologist and Special Educator. We work as a team so that your child grows up into a happy, healthy, well-rounded young person.

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