Communication options

Objectives: List and differentiate communication

options. Describe for whom a given communication

option would be appropriate.

Modes of communication

Oral

Cued speech

Total communication (TC)

Signed Exact English (SEE)

Conceptually accurate signed English

American Sign Language (ASL)

Oral Communication

Most heavily reliant on auditory cues

Oral-Aural

Allows for visual cues

Auditory-Verbal

Removes visual cues as much as possible

Cued Speech

Developed by Dr. Orin Cornett in 1966, to address poor literacy of deaf students.

Syllabic representation of speech based on hand shape, hand position, and mouth shape.

Total Communication

Promotes simultaneous use of multiple modalities

Auditory channel stimulated through speech

Visual channel stimulated through manually-coded English (MCE)

Signed Exact English (type of MCE)

Morphemic representation of speech

Uses modified signs from ASL (usually replaces ASL handshape with letter that initiates the word)

Adds morphological markers (-ly, -ed, -ing, -s)

Uses English word order

American Sign Language

Visual language

Uses hand shape, body carriage, facial features, and trajectory to convey meaning

Where spoken language is sequential, ASL allows for simultaneous expression of information

Considerations

Access to auditory signal

Limits of audiologic intervention

Parental motivation to adopt system

Available academic support

Some families will know which communication option they want.

Others will need information and help in the selection process.