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Communication In Total Communication

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Total communication is a way of educating children with a loss of hearing, this system incorporates all means of communication. Including formal signs, natural gestures, finger spelling, body language, listening, lipreading, and speech. In these TC programs it is most common that the children are wearing hearing aids or cochlear implants. The intent of the TC programs is to provide each child with the tools of communication needed for their development language competence. This program is open for use by families and educators. Many people in the TC program strongly believe that most learning and comprehension occurs when you interact with other people. It is very important to this program that you can communicate with individuals with the understanding of what you are talking about about. Total communication can open so many different directions and avenues of communication for deaf children.
Total communication was created by a mother that was frustrated with the progress her daughter wasn’t making. The approach she started with was the oral approach. She wanted to try something different so she decided to create her own multi-approach. Not only did the daughter start this approach but her teacher started to adopt it as well. Her mother called it “the total approach”(Gannon, 1981). Several years later a new supervisor came to the James Madison elementary school in California his name was Roy Holcomb. His philosophy was that communication was the key to success. All the

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