Communication is an innate behavior people engage in to convey one's thoughts, needs, and interests to others (Knapp, Hall, & Horgan, 2014). Recommended Practices from the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC, 2014) encourage teachers to partner with families to implement strategies that support…

The study investigated the "hundred languages of Deaf children" (Malaguzzi, 1993) in two schools using the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education, which originated in Italy. One principle of this approach, "the hundred languages of children," supports young children in expressing their ideas and thoughts in…

The Early Communication Indicator (ECI) is a measure relevant to intervention decision making and progress monitoring for infants and toddlers. With increasing recognition of the importance of quality early childhood education and intervention for all children, measurement plays an important role in documenting children's progress and outcomes of…

The mother of a young deaf child describes her son's progress in communicating through sign and verbal language. (CL)

A study of 28 hearing families and their children with hearing impairments (ages 42 to 87 months) found that average age of entry into early-intervention programs was 21 months. Mothers participated more than fathers, and the majority of graduates were enrolled in specific deaf-education programs emphasizing a total-communication approach. (CR)

This study compared early pragmatic skill development in 76 children (ages 1-4) with severe or profound hearing loss enrolled in either a simultaneous communication (SC) or oral communication (OC) approach to language learning. Results indicated some advantages of the SC approach, although overall frequency of communication and breadth of…

The relative effectiveness of total communication and oral communication training in a parent-assisted, home-based language intervention program was studied with 15 Down's syndrome children, 18-36 months old. (Author/SEW)

Following a review of the literature, the paper describes a total communication approach to the language development of a 4-year-old autistic child. It is explained that the child was videotaped while being trained to simultaneously use elements of American sign language together with the correct spoken word or words. Training procedures are…

The effects of an early intervention program for 24 profoundly deaf children under 3 years of age were compared to outcomes for 12 deaf children who did not receive special intervention. The Counselling and Home Training Program, which serves families in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, is based on the philosophy of total communication with…

The existing outcome literature on the use of oral-only and total communication approaches for young deaf children is reviewed and methodological and practical difficulties of outcome research explored. The authors propose a developmental/transactional, clinically based process model for evaluating the effectiveness of early intervention.…

This reprint of a 1970 article examines some emergent concepts of psycholinguistics and relates them to the development of a language-training program for children with deafness. It discusses the stages and process of language development, and the advantages and disadvantages of the total-communication approach, oral communication, and the…

Total communication is the simultaneous use of speech and manual signs. This article presents a literature review regarding language disabilities of children with Down's syndrome and a case study concerning the effectiveness of the use of total communication with an infant with Down's syndrome. (Author/BB)

A study investigated whether differences in working memory could account for variance in word recognition and receptive vocabulary skills of children (ages 5-16) using oral communication (n=32) and total communication (n=29). A contribution from working memory was observed only for the span tasks that incorporated an auditory processing component.…

This article discusses the incidence of infant hearing impairments, auditory screening tests, and available intervention choices for infants with severe to profound congenital hearing loss, including methods for communication and cochlear implantation. American Sign language, manually coded English, fingerspelling, total communication, and…

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…