MN Hands & Voices
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COMMUNICATION CHOICES
Selected
Resources
www.MNHandsandVoices.org |
Parents of
children who are deaf and hard of hearing face the extremely difficult question
of, “what’s the best communication choice for my child?” This leads to many other questions, such as
“should we be learning sign language, take an auditory/oral approach and/or
learn cued speech? Can a child
communicate through several different methods? “ The answer to these questions is
deeply personal and depends on many factors unique to each family.
MN Hands
& Voices has several resources that can help parents in making these
important decisions. A sample of
these is listed below, as well as other resources you might want to
explore. A complete list of library
resources is available on our website.
To borrow any of the materials from our library, just give us a call or
send us email.
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Books |
1.
The
2.
Choices in
Deafness: A Parents’ Guide, edited by Sue Schwartz, 1996.
This book describes three different methodologies for
communication: Total Communication
(including sign language), Cued Speech and an Oral Approach.
3.
When Your Child
Is Deaf: A Guide for Parents, by David M. Luterman with Mark
Ross, 1991. This book discusses the
controversy between the communication options of using some form of sign
language/manual-assisted system and oralism.
4.
Open Doors:
Options in Communication and Education for Children Who
are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, by Oticon, Inc. and the
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Videos |
1.
Communication Choices,
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Web Sites to Check Out |
1.
www.beginningssvcs.com:
Beginnings for Parents of Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing seeks to
provide unbiased information to parents.
Their website includes a reference chart about the goals, parent
training and other factors involved in different communication options. Visit their website or call 800-541-4327.
2.
www.handsandvoices.org:
Hands and Voices is a parent-driven organization in
3.
www.hearingexchange.com:
Hearing Exchange is an online community for the exchange of ideas and
information on hearing loss and related issues.
The website has interesting and supportive information for all
communication methods.
4.
www.listen-up.org
: The Listen Up Web is a website full of
information and products for parents of children who are deaf or hard of
hearing and professionals working with children who are deaf or hard of
hearing. This website has a message broad with that has many topics to choose
from.
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For More Information Comparing Various Options |
1.
Visit MN Hands & Voices website at www.mnhandsandvoices.org. Check out the Communication Options section
for information and contacts on various communication options such as
auditory-oral, auditory-verbal, American Sign Language, pidgin signed English,
Signed Exact English and Cued Speech.
2.
Learn from other parents. Call or email MN Hands & Voices to get in
touch with families who are using various options. Also available, “Parent Welcome Letters,” a
variety of printed family stories about their children who use a particular
communication method or methods. Letters
from a Hmong, Somali and Spanish – speaking families are available in their
native language, as well as English.
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This is not a
complete list of resources available. If
you do not find something of interest listed here, we encourage you to
contact MN Hands & Voices for further information and The resources
listed here have been selected by the staff of MN Hands & Voices but are
not affiliated with us in any way, please review carefully as we can not be
responsible for their contents or claims.
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