gnulinuxman said:
OK, if you use sign language full-time, why are you praising oralism when you have not experienced it?
He's not going to become oralist so no need for him to experience and he already saw what his wife can do. And he just want his kids mainstreamed.
He's not alone, there are many of us that are supporter of Oral Approaches and Sign Approaches. now there are 3 type of Oral Approaches so keep in mind we do not favor the Pure Oral method (the one that is forced and the one who get their hands beaten with wooden stick or ruler, you see, that is old news. Those culturally deaf folks, you included, should put this fear behind because this dangerous practice is not still pursed. )
now 3 approaches are;
Auditory-Oral (Multi-sensory) – Requires children to use their residual hearing in combination with speechreading, kinesthetics or tactile cues, such as placing the child’s hand upon the teacher’s throat. This is the most common approach used in self-contained Oral classrooms.
Auditory-Verbal – Emphasizes the use of residual hearing as the primary modality for language learning; may deprive child of speechreading cues by covering mouth; seeks to develop an “attitude of listening” by integrating child into regular schools.
Cued Speech – Uses speech and auditory cues in combination with phonemically-based handshapes that distinguish speech sounds that look alike on the lips.
Signs Approaches are;
Total Communication (TC) – Advocates the use of all communication modalities appropriate for a given child, including speech, signs, listening, fingerspelling, and speechreading. The most common implementation of TC is the simultaneous use of speech and English-based sign.
Bilingual/Bicultural (Bi/Bi) – Relies upon American Sign Language, a naturally-evolved and complete manual language used by culturally Deaf people in the United States . English is often taught secondarily through reading and writing. ASL is typically presented without voice because spoken English does not correlate word-for-word with ASL.
So in the end, he has the right to choose communication method for his childrens! not you! so how about backing off on him? let him be.
