The author cites research that casts doubt upon the use of total communication as a means of facilitating speech, communication between parent and child, academic achievement, and vocabulary development in hearing-impaired children. He states that the Alexander Graham Bell Association is not antimanual communication, but rather prospeech. (CL)

This study investigated speaking rate and voice onset time (VOT) in speech produced during simultaneous communication (SC) by speakers with normal hearing. The somewhat enlarged voicing contrast during SC was consistent with previous findings regarding the influence of rate changes on the temporal fine structure of speech and voicing contrast…

The manual is intended as a course resource to help hearing secondary students learn to communicate with deaf peers or family members. The total communication approach is described and reasons for its use advanced. An introductory section explains the philosophy, general goals, and program objectives of the course. Ten lesson plans are then…

Describes a research project intended to develop a description, within a generative model, of British Sign Language grammar, with particular focus on time expressions. (AM)

In order to investigate the role of visual perceptual abilities in the acquisition and comprehension of sign language, four tests of perceptual ability were administered to 120 entering hearing-impaired students and 23 new hearing staff members at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. (Author)

Six research areas in manual/simultaneous communication (M/SC) for hearing-impaired individuals are discussed. (Author)

The need for selection, standardization, and development of signs and manual communication systems for use in the educational setting is discussed. (Author)

During an eight-month treatment regimen utilizing simultaneous sign/speech input, all of the words of a young girl with Down's Syndrome were recorded. Analyses revealed that most of the words she initially signed were later spontaneously spoken and that most of her signed productions evolved into spontaneous spoken productions. (Author/JDD)

Total communication procedures were used with three severely mentally retarded children (mental ages 2 to 4) to examine the effects of receptive speech on the acquisition and maintenance of manual signing. Signs corresponding to known words were generally acquired faster and retained better than signs corresponding to unknown words. (Author/JW)

A review of problems with using such manual communication systems as cued speech, fingerspelling, Signed or Manual English, American Sign Language, and Pidgin Sign provides a rationale for using a combination of American Sign Language and Pidgin Sign and a few markers from Signed English for a Total Communication system. (CB)

Examines the differential mode usage (speech, vocalize, gesture and sign) of profoundly deaf preschoolers and their hearing mothers as a function of their level of communicative competence and method of communication. Relates simultaneous use of modes to higher communicative competence and specific pragmatic types of communication. (Author/MES)

The goal of the Manual/Simultaneous Communication Department (M/SCD) at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) is to assist deaf students in developing communication skills. (Author)

A follow-up was done on a 1976 survey of communication trends in schools and programs for the hearing impaired in the U.S. Although a lower response rate made direct comparison of numbers impossible, the percentage of classes using the various communication modes was consistent with the earlier study. (Author/CL)

Describes the development of the Interactive Video Questionnaire for interviewing deaf persons. The questionnaire uses videodisc and bar-code readers to present survey questions on screen in American Sign Language, Signed English, speech reading, or as English subtitles. (DB)

Examines the effect that hearing parents' communication methods have on the self-esteem of their deaf children. Results indicate that adolescents whose parents used total communication (speech, finger spelling, and sign language) had higher self-esteem scores than adolescents whose parents used speech only. Makes recommendations for school social…