This study investigated the preservation of second formant transition acoustic cues to intelligibility in speech produced during simultaneous communication (SC) from a locus equation perspective with 12 normal hearing, experienced sign language users. Results were consistent with previous research indicating that temporal alterations produced by…

This article examines the communication barriers and relationships between hearing and non-hearing college students in a classroom setting. Twelve college students, six female and six males, between 18 and 22 years of age took part in this ethnographic study during a sixteen week course in public speaking, conducted at the University of Colorado,…

The Total Communication Rating Scale is a 5-point, 10-item evaluation instrument designed to assess the total communication skills of students in training as they interact with deaf persons. The necessity for, a description of, and recommended uses for the rating scale are discussed. (Author/CL)

This study investigated the perception of voice onset time (VOT) in speech produced during simultaneous communication (SC). Four normally hearing, experienced sign language users were recorded under SC and speech alone (SA) conditions speaking stimulus words with voiced and voiceless initial consonants embedded in a sentence. Twelve…

Modeling can help hearing impaired students acquire facility in English. To be effective, the modeling should involve total communication (including the voice), use correct English consistently, and increase the amount of fingerspelling used. (CL)

Sixteen deaf persons using total communication or sign language and 10 deaf persons using oral communication were administered the Test of Communication Skills (which measures information context and message class) in their preferred modality. Results showed that total communication was a more effective communication method under the testing…

Two methods (signs presented with or without accompanying verbal label) of training autistic children to use manual signs were compared. The efficacy of training in both treatment conditions was demonstrated but no clear differences in acquisition speed across conditions were apparent. (Author/CL)

Among parents of 48 children previously enrolled in oral/aural programs there was a significant correlation between overall perception of benefits of total communication (TC) and perception of children's educational and emotional growth. Most parents did not feel TC adversely affected speechreading, speech production, or hearing aid use. (CL)

The study examined actual communicative expressions of five 3-year-old profoundly, prelingually deaf children and their mothers, along with nonverbal contextual information. Each subject was videotaped in the home while interacting with the mother in toy play and usual daily activity. Results identified more than 4,500 communicative expressions,…

The paper traces the place of total communication in the education of deaf children from its beginning in France to the current time. Evidence is presented which shows the efficacy of total communication and the trend toward its adoption by an increasing number of programs. The use of total communication with nondeaf, special education populations…

A parent tells her story about her 17-year encounter with deafness and with the professionals in deafness. (Author)

Two studies investigated the effects of administration modifications on subtest scaled scores of the Wechsler-Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). Performance scale rated different groups of 57 severely/profoundly hearing-impaired children. Total communication was found to result in higher scores on all subtests in the genetic and…

The paper offers a model for providing comprehensive speech services within a total communication program for deaf students so that this type of educational approach will be more than manual education with adjunct speech services. Contributions of each member of an interdisciplinary, comprehensive, speech team are described. (Author)

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)