Methods of communication for hearing impaired-A gap between theory and practice

Three different methods of communication-Oralism, Total Communication and Educational Bilingualism are followed in different type of schools for the children with hearing impairment. Each has its own aims, objectives and principles. The study aims to analyze the differences in the academic achievement and performance of the students with hearing impairment in various school set up and the method of communications followed and to find out the reasons behind the success or failure. It is found that the performance of the students studying in Oral school is better than the other two. The reason behind the failure is that the school administration and the teachers are not totally aware of the principle of the methods and there is a gap between the theory and practice. Steps should be taken to fill in the gap.. There are success stories of schools which follow Total Communication or Educational Bilingualism too. In the schools selected for the study, we can see that there is a gap which prevails between theory and practice in the education of hearing impaired children.