Any means of communication through bodily movements, especially of the hands and arms, rather than through speech. It has long been used by speakers of mutually unintelligible languages for example, various Plains Indian tribes in 19th-century North America communicated via a sign language and is widely used for communication by the deaf. Charles-Michel, abbé de l’Épée (1712 – 89), developed the first sign language for the deaf in the mid-18th century; his system developed into French Sign Language (FSL), still used in France.

Transported to the U.S. in 1816 by Thomas Gallaudet (1787 – 1851), it evolved into American Sign Language (ASL, or Ameslan), now used by more than half a million people. These and other national sign languages generally express concepts rather than elements of words and thus have more in common with each other than with their countries’ spoken languages. Get more reading on rocket languages-American Sign Language

Total communication is the using any means of communication — sign language

Advantages of Total Communication

Some parents and educators favor total communication as a catch-all that ensures that a deaf child has access to some means of communication (speaking as needed, or signing as needed). For example, a deaf child who can not communicate well orally gets the additional support of sign language, and vice versa. Using total communication can also reduce the pressure on parents to choose one method over another.

Disadvantages of Total Communication

Some people feel that the problem with the total communication method of communication is that signing and speaking at the same time can result in a compromise that affects the quality of one or the other. This can impact the quality of educational information received by a deaf student. In addition, the needs and abilities of deaf children in a classroom vary, and total communication may not meet the needs of all the deaf students in the classroom.

A study of graduate students in a deaf education program at Gallaudet University found that out of five communication options for being instructed and communicating with classmates, most preferred voice-off sign language, and disliked the idea of simultaneous communication, even if there was an interpreter to help.

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