Total Communications camp, shown on ‘The South Tonight’

1978
  • Deaf Education
  • TV/Media
New Zealand's first total communications camp for Deaf children takes place in Tautuku, South Otago.
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New Zealand’s first Total Communications camp for Deaf children takes place in Tautuku, South Otago. This clip screened on The South Tonight which was a Dunedin-filmed regional news show on 1 September 1978.

At the camp, Deaf children and their families learn how to communicate via Total Communications (TC). Gena McDonald, mother of Tyson McDonald, a Deaf boy, talks how TC has helped her son who is doing really well academically. She signs with him, showing him how to use a climbing rope.

The TC teacher in this video is Dr Jim Moody, an educational psychologist from the United States, who was working at Otago. Jim was instrumental in advocating for the use of sign language with deaf children in New Zealand. He supported parents in forming MOACOM.

Note: Captions on this video has followed the voice of the teacher, but at certain points, the children signing are out of sync with the teacher’s talking.

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Taonga source:
Television New Zealand Archive
Reference number:
SignDNA – Deaf National Archive New Zealand, TVNZ03-01-DY78
Note:
This item has been compressed and/or edited.