There are three general approaches/philosophies to the education of a deaf child: oral, bilingual/bicultural, and total communication. Below you will find a basic description of each program and some of the variations, if any, you might find in these programs. I have tried to include websites for each of these methods. If you know of a website that would be a good reference to these methods/philosophies or would like to correct any misunderstandings regarding any philosophy that I have described, please let me know via email at info@deafeducation4parents.com.

There are many factors that must be considered when looking at different programs. Each factor can play a role in the success of any Deaf child in their education.

• Hearing Loss: the amount of hearing that a child has lost or the amount of residual hearing that a child has will influence the amount of information that may be gained auditorily. The amount of loss can but does not always affect the ability to acquire speech. Some hard-of-hearing children have a difficult time learning to speak, while some profoundly deaf children do learn to speak.
• Identification of Deafness: the earlier a child is identified to have a hearing loss, the sooner intervention can be given. A child with a hearing loss needs to have access to language whether the choice be oral or sign language.
• Parental Support: The amount of parental support and involvement, regardless of program choice, is extremely important to a child's success in school.
• Qualified Teachers: It is very important, regardless of program choice, that the teachers have the appropriate training in their method of instruction.

Oral Philosophy:

In general, oral programs have an emphasis on spoken language and listening. They are taught through oral/verbal instruction or the use of an oral interpreter. No sign language is used. Oral programs may use one or more of the following strategies/tools for instruction: speech/audiological training, assistive devices, developing listening skills. Many oral programs are private schools, however there are some public oral programs. Three variations of the oral approach are described below:

1. Auditory/Verbal Method:

*intensive therapy *listening skills (instructor covers their lip movements) *build language through listening *no sign language used

Most children in this type of program usually have at least some residual hearing (but it is not an absolute requirement) and use hearing aids or a cochlear implant.

2. Aural/Oral Method:

*some similarities to auditory/verbal *learn to listen and lipread *natural gestures are accepted

3. Cued Speech:

*clarifies the sounds using handshapes to identify sounds (Ex: difference between "bat" and "pat") *different from sign language *requires the use of a cued speech interpreter *not a widely used method, but has programs across the United States (for more information see Total Communication below)





Schools and/or Websites on the Oral Philosophy:

The John Tracy Clinic

Oralingual School

Bilingual/Bicultural Philosophy:

The bilingual/bicultural philosophy recognizes American Sign Language (ASL) as the primary language of the deaf child and uses ASL for instruction and conceptual understanding of material. In addition, they teach English as a second language for reading and writing. The child is considered "bilingual" when they have mastered both languages. The "bicultural" aspect of this philosophy is that they teach both hearing and deaf culture. They teach deaf children to be proud of their deaf heritage. They expose the children to deaf adult role models.

Schools and/or Websites on the Bilingual/Bicultural Philosophy:

California School for the Deaf, Fremont

California School for the Deaf, Riverside

Total Communication Philosophy:

The total communication philosophy has many variations. In general, they use a combination of various methods and approaches to meet the individual child's needs. A combination of sign language, fingerspelling and spoken words is often used. Sign lanuage used may vary: Signed Exact English (SEE), Signed English, American Sign Language (ASL), or Pidgin Signed English (PSE). In addition, some programs may include the use of Cued Speech to assist the child in English Access. These programs may use speech and language therapists, audiological training, and assistive devices in the course of instruction for deaf children.

Differences in Sign Languages:

Signed Exact English (SEE): is a system of signs that code English into a visual form. SEE includes prefixes and suffixes to assist Deaf children in seeing all aspects of the English language. It is not the native language used by the majority of Deaf adults.

Signed English: is a manually coded form of English similar to SEE, however it often borrows vocabulary and uses three-dimensional space which makes Signed English more ASL-like.

American Sign Language (ASL): is the accepted native language among Deaf adults. It is recognized by linguists to be a true language having its own structure, syntax and other features found in other languages. It is NOT English.

Pidgin Signed English (PSE): is a form of sign that has evolved as a dialect of sign language that is not English nor is it ASL. Many Deaf adults use this as a form of communication, often when signing to hearing people. It may vary on a continuum from manually coded English on one end to ASL on the other.

Cued Speech: is NOT a form of sign language. It is a tool to make spoken language visible to the Deaf. It is not used as a form of communication among Deaf adults. It uses 8 basic handshapes representing groups of consonant sounds and 4 locations representing groups of vowel sounds. The general rule is what looks similar on the lips looks different on the hands and vice-versa.