Monday, January 30, 2012

Parteners


European Union


RO: Liceul Tehnologic Special "Vasile Pavelcu" Iasi


HU: Dr. Török Béla Óvoda, Általános Iskola, Speciális Szakiskola, Egységes Gyógypedagógiai Módszertani Intézmény, Diákotthon és Gyermekotthon


TR: Kemal Yurtbilir Isitme Engelliler Erken Çocukluk Egitim Merkezi, Anaokulu ve Ilkokulu


CZ: Strední škola, Základní škola a Materská škola Hradec Králové


PL: Specjalny Osrodek Szkolno - Wychowawczy dla Dzieci i Mlodziezy Niepelnosprawnej


Objectives

- To develop verbal and nonverbal communication skills at hearing impaired children (using the Total Communication approach).

- To obtain the basic life-skills and competencies required for their personal development, for future employment and for an active European citizenship.

- To develop the knowledge and the understanding among young people and educational staff regarding the diversity of European cultures, languages, and its values.

- To form the inclusive attitudes, promoting tolerance and accepting cultural and human differences.

- To improve the professional skills, the exchanging experiences between teachers regarding the Total Communication approach.

- To promote equal opportunities and social cohesion by raising awareness of the local communities regarding the valences of the Total Communication and its importance for people with hearing disabilities.

European Added Value

Total Communication is an educational approach within the field of deaf children education in which a variety of communicational languages and methods may be used individually or in combination between the deaf child and his or her teachers, parents and friends.
Total Communication is an increasingly used method in the schools for students with hearing disabilities from all Europe. This project aims to develop the verbal and nonverbal communication skills to the hearing impaired children (using the Total Communication) and to obtain the basic life-skills and competencies needed for their personal development, for future employment and for an active European citizenship.

The students with hearing disabilities have difficulties in processing and understanding complex verbal messages presented through mass - media or internet. This project makes accessible the information related to the concept of European integration for students with hearing disabilities and creates the attitudes required for an active European citizenship.

The personal identity of the deaf is formed in connection with the feeling of belonging to the deaf people community. Moreover, it is well known that there is a particular culture of the deaf, language, etc. The direct contact with other children belonging to the other countries' deaf communities enables the student to strengthen the feeling of belonging to a larger deaf community, an European one.

Understanding, awareness, tolerance, respect and acceptance of cultural diversities come through an open dialogue. Such open and unprejudiced dialogue is crucial to a successful European Union. Our project aims to promote tolerance and acceptance of cultural and human differences.

Also, the project aims to create an intercultural exchange through experimentation of another country's lifestyle and to develop knowledge and understanding among young people and educational staff toward the diversity of European cultures, languages and its value.

The final project's product will show the effects of Total Communication and its importance for hearing disabled persons. It will focus on the creation of the positive attitudes for an inclusive society. The educational software's distribution and its presentation in regular schools will develop the inclusive attitudes among the students from those schools. The software will be designed in English allowing it to be used in any European country.

Rationale

The beneficiaries of the project from the partner schools are children and young people with hearing disabilities. Some of them, with hearing aids or cochlear implants, can benefit in varying degrees, and use their residual hearing. They are in various stages of their speech therapy and use both verbal communication and sign language (The Total Communication). When the Total Communication is implemented there are used all possible means to transmit the message, which may facilitate the communication in an optimal way. Total communication helps the beneficiaries to transmit and to perceive the message, and also because of its "total" aspect to improve the understanding of it through the different clues involved. Both the beneficiary, and anyone in their environment, may use, for example, body language, signs, expressiveness, mimics, articles, pictures, drawings, icons and verbal language.
Total Communication is implemented for people who have hearing deficiencies and face problems interacting with their environment. Total Communication, like an overall vision, appreciates all forms of communication as being equal. We have proposed this project in order to develop the student’s creativity using verbal and nonverbal forms of communication- "Total Communication", and to overcome the communication barriers either for oral language or sign language.

The students with hearing disabilities have difficulties in understanding complex verbal messages presented through mass - media or internet. The project makes accessible the information related to the concept of European integration for students with hearing disabilities and forms the attitudes necessary for an active European citizenship.

This project allows the exchange of experiences and a direct communication between students and teachers from the countries that have different cultures, traditions and religions. This enables the implementation of an active cultural education in order to promote tolerance and accepting cultural and human differences. Moreover, it will encourage the learning of a foreign language and will improve student’s social skills and their ability to work in teams, among other young people and educational staff.
The social integration of people with hearing disabilities requires efforts not only from them or from the authorized institutions but also from the community members. An inclusive society implies adequate attitudes from its members.
Therefore, one aim of the project is to promote equal opportunities and social cohesion by raising the awareness of the local communities and especially of the students, parents and teachers from the regular schools, regarding the valences of the total communication (information on the existence of alternative communication, for example LMG) and its importance for people with hearing disabilities.
The final product of the project will show the positive effects of Total Communication and its importance for hearing disabilities persons. It will focus on the formation of specific attitudes for an inclusive society.

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