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)

Considers the signed speech of nonverbal children and the unsigned speech that evolves. Discusses possible explanations for signed speech as a development of linguistic functions. Makes suggestions for research on the relationship between language acquisition by nonverbal children and by normal infants. (PMJ)

This digest uses a question-and-answer format to address issues that parents should consider when thinking about the total communication (TC) approach for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. Total communication is explained as the use of any/all modes of communication (manual, oral, auditory, and written) depending on the needs of the child.…

This paper proposes new policies which stress making explicit the roles of sign communication and speech in total communication programs for students with hearing impairments. A review of the literature supports the need to redefine total communication, provide improved preservice and in-service training of teachers in effective communication…

The Total Communication Checklist and Assessment screening tool for multihandicapped students is presented to assist the language examiner to select areas requiring more precise testing. The checklist, which contains 196 rating entries, consists of the following four sections: (1) readiness for symbolic communication, (2) preference for speech,…

This booklet presents knowledge, attitudes, and educational ideas on how to give deaf children the support they need to develop. It focuses on the fundamental and comprehensive needs of deaf children, using methods and ideas that can be adjusted to countries without great technical resources. The first chapter examines the importance of language…