Communication Needs and Program Types

Deaf and hard-of-hearing children have diverse communication needs, and this drives diverse educational program types. Most children communicate in one of three ways: orally, by signing, or in sign and speech together. Communication at school and at home may be different, depending on the communication skills of the parents. In addition, it is not unusual for children to encounter more than one communication system during their education, or even during the course of a single school year.

Oral programs. In these programs, the major components are speech, speechreading (i.e., lipreading), and the use of residual hearing by use of hearing aids and other amplification devices. The philosophy is that children with hearing impairment should learn to speak and to understand the speech of others. There are two broad categories of approaches. In unisensory approaches, the major emphasis is on developing one primary sense -- typically audition or hearing. In multisensory approaches, the emphasis is on developing both vision and audition.

Cued speech. Cued speech is a sound-based system of handcues that supplements speechreading. Eight handshapes representing groups of consonants are placed in four positions around the face to indicate groups of vowel sounds. Combined with the natural lip movements of speech, the cues make spoken language visible. Cued speech can be used in conjunction with other communication systems for general communication or for limited purposes, such as for phonics instruction.

SEE II (Signing Exact English). This signing method falls under the rubric of a philosophy labeled “total communication,” which entails the use of speech and signs in simultaneous fashion, and contains a number of signed systems. Signed Exact English categorizes English words into three broad areas: basic (e.g., girl), compound (e.g., butterfly), and complex (e.g., run). The selection or use of a sign to represent a word and its parts (e.g., inflections and affixes) is based on a two-out-of-three rule involving sound, spelling, and meaning. Thus, a multimeaning word such as run would have the same sign in “The girl hit a home run” or “She likes to run, not walk.” The same sign is used for run because two of the three criteria are met: sound and spelling.

American Sign Language (ASL)-English bilingual/bicultural. In general, this approach (often referred to as Bi-Bi), refers to programs that attempt to assist students to develop proficiency in two languages, American Sign Language and English. American Sign Language is a visual-gestural, rule-governed language which is different from English in grammar and form. It is particularly structured to accommodate the visual capacities of the eye and the motor capacities of the body. In most programs, the tendency is to develop or enhance ASL as a first language and to teach English as a second language. With respect to English, students are expected to develop proficiency in reading and writing. They are generally not required to demonstrate proficiency in either speaking or signing English.