Total Communication
Encyclopedia
Total Communication is an approach to deaf education
that aims to make use of a number of modes of communication such as signed
, oral
, auditory, written and visual aids, depending on the particular needs and abilities of the child.
in 1967, although the term “total communication” was first used by Roy Holcomb in California and was adopted by the Maryland school as the official name for their educational philosophy. TC was supposed to find a middle ground in age-old disputes between oralism
and manualism
, and as an alternative to Simultaneous Communication
. In practice, however, most Total Communication programs use some form of Simultaneous Communication.
Total Communication educational programs have been established in the UK, France, U.S.A, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, France, Germany and elsewhere. In the United States, TC was most popular during the 1970s and 1980s, when most schools and programs for children who are deaf, as well as most major organizations in the field supported the TC philosophyhttp://ericec.org/digests/e559.html. Today, the debate seems to be between TC programs and bilingual-bicultural education
.
Deaf education
Deaf education is the academic discipline concerned the education of students with various hearing capabilities in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs.Deaf education also includes the study of:* Special education...
that aims to make use of a number of modes of communication such as signed
Manual communication
Manual communication systems use articulation of the hands to mediate a message between persons. Being expressed manually, they are received visually, and sometimes tactually...
, oral
Oralism
Oralism is the education of deaf students through spoken language by using lip reading, speech, and mimicking the mouth shapes and breathing patterns of speech instead of using sign language within the classroom...
, auditory, written and visual aids, depending on the particular needs and abilities of the child.
History
Total Communication was originally developed by David Denton at the Maryland School for the DeafMaryland School for the Deaf
The Maryland School for the Deaf is a school that provides free public education to Deaf and hard-of-hearing Maryland residents, from birth to age 18.-History:...
in 1967, although the term “total communication” was first used by Roy Holcomb in California and was adopted by the Maryland school as the official name for their educational philosophy. TC was supposed to find a middle ground in age-old disputes between oralism
Oralism
Oralism is the education of deaf students through spoken language by using lip reading, speech, and mimicking the mouth shapes and breathing patterns of speech instead of using sign language within the classroom...
and manualism
Manualism
Manualism is a method of education of deaf students using sign language within the classroom.-History:While working at Gallaudet University in the 1970s, William Stokoe felt that American Sign Language was a language in its own right; with its own independent syntax and grammar...
, and as an alternative to Simultaneous Communication
Simultaneous Communication
Simultaneous Communication, SimCom or Sign Supported Speech is a technique sometimes used by deaf, hard-of-hearing or hearing sign language persons in which both a spoken language and a manual variant of that language are used simultaneously...
. In practice, however, most Total Communication programs use some form of Simultaneous Communication.
Total Communication educational programs have been established in the UK, France, U.S.A, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, France, Germany and elsewhere. In the United States, TC was most popular during the 1970s and 1980s, when most schools and programs for children who are deaf, as well as most major organizations in the field supported the TC philosophyhttp://ericec.org/digests/e559.html. Today, the debate seems to be between TC programs and bilingual-bicultural education
Bilingual-bicultural education
Bilingual-bicultural or BiBi education programs use sign language as the native, or first, language of deaf children. In the United States, for example, American Sign Language is the natural first language for deaf children...
.
External links
- Total Communication - The ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, USA.
- Interview with David Denton, creator of TC