Letter to the Editor: Total communication
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Letter to the Editor: Total communication

Sir,—Having worked among and with the deaf for more than 30 years, and currently president of the New Zealand Association of the Deaf, I feel for and love the deaf very dearly. Totally ignored in New Zealand (the supposed “welfare state”), the battle for total communication in education for the deaf is a very real one. Miss Nola Dickey is to be championed for her endeavours and progress in the classroom, as is Dr Jim Moody of Dunedin.

While oralism is accepted by the NZAD as one method, the support of total communication is necessary to achieve a language. To express a personal opinion, lip-reading as a means of communication is a fallacy unless accompanied by other methods. Not mentioned anywhere in the battle for teaching total communication is the use of “body language” and facial expressions.

The adult deaf person in society within New Zealand today is either very very good or plain awful. If the teachers of oralism were faced with communication with those born profoundly deaf (and there are many who are unable to read or write, let alone communicate) in the difficult areas of court work, legal, medical and psychiatric situations, their defence of total oralism would collapse.

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  • Sign Language
  • TV/Media

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NZSL story – Taonga source: Tony Walton

Tony Walton on Building a More Accessible Deaf Aotearoa

Tony reflects on his involvement with the New Zealand Association of the Deaf (now Deaf Aotearoa). In 1989, during the World Deaf Games, New Zealand had only two or three qualified NZSL interpreters – a serious shortage. NZDSA was strongly sign-based, while the NZAD board leaned more oral. After the Games, Tony joined NZAD as a delegate to learn how it worked, eventually becoming President. His focus was on Deaf youth, leading to the creation of Friends of Young Deaf (FYD), better Māori engagement and involvement with more NZSL interpreters. One key goal was to have 13 interpreters nationwide, giving every major town and city access. Interpreter pay and access were limited back then – very different from today.
NZSL story – Taonga source: Tony Walton

From New Lynn to Avondale: A Necessary Move

Tony served as President of the New Zealand Association of the Deaf from 1999 to 2003. At the time, the focus was on supporting Deaf youth – not relocating. But when asbestos was discovered in the ceiling of the New Lynn building, with removal costs estimated at $600,000, a major decision had to be made. With support from a funder willing to underwrite the risk, the building was sold and a new location was secured. The Avondale office officially opened in November 1999.
Bruce McHattie
Bruce McHattie
Jim Moody
Jim Moody
Nola Dickey
Nola Dickey

Relevant Links

Taonga source:
NZ Listener
Reference number:
SignDNA – Deaf National Archive New Zealand, A1981-008
Bibliographic source:
March 21, 1981
Author:
Bruce McHattie
Copyright status:
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Note:
This item has been transcribed and/or OCR post-corrected. It also has been compressed and/or edited.

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