Deafness

I chose to include the icommunicate article in my resource collection. Kids who fall under the Deafness categorty are kids who can’t hear most or all sounds, even with a hearing aid. While there are many approaches to teaching students who are deaf, "Some advocate total communication which involves using speech (lip) reading, gestures, and sign language, or both oral and manual methods." (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2018) I chose to include the icommunicationtherapy article on total communication in my resource collection becuase of the abundance of information on total communication. Some administrators or general education teachers may be unsure how to implement total communication into the classroom. 

The article gives a list of modalities that may be used in a Total Communication approach. The article lists them and then goes into detail of each one. For example, when describing the modality of touching cues, the article wrote that, "Touch cues are a way of giving individuals information about what is going to happen. These cues are probably more likely to be used with individuals with hearing and visual difficulties, but may also have some advantages with individuals with severe learning difficulties. Touch cues can help individuals understand activities, people and places. For instance, a hand on the shoulder may mean “sit down”, or alternatively the individual may be guided to touch a familiar person’s watch or ring to let them know who is present. A mother might touch her child on the forehead, and father on the ear, so the child knows who is there." (icommunicatetherapy.com) This resource would be extremely helpful in finding the best way to communicate with a student that is deaf in my classroom or give advice to a colleague on the topic.

Aditionally, the article reminds us to think of the individual when choosing a modality. The article states, "We need to consider the individual, consider the nature of their communication disorder, and what tools they already have to communicate. If the individual we are communicating with is non-verbal, can they sign or gesture? If they cannot sign, can they eye point or access a switch? Is the communication partner visually or hearing impaired? Everyone communicates in some way, and virtually everyone can be given the capability to communicate their needs." (icommunicatetherapy.com) 

Resources

Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2018). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction (6th ed.). Pearson.

Total communication and AAC - icommunicate therapy. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.icommunicatetherapy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Total-Communication-and-AAC.pdf