However, this system is not used by the deaf community so it does not allow the child to speak with other deaf people. People who favor total communication feel that sign language allows the deaf child to be a member of the deaf community and to communicate easily within that group. They are concerned that children who do not learn sign will not learn to communicate and will be isolated. Although socialization with the deaf community is much easier in sign, socialization and work with people who do not sign is more difficult. Children who are educated in total communication programs attend schools for the deaf or special classes in public schools where the teachers and other students sign.
All children wear hearing aids.
The advantage to an auditory-oral education is that children who learn to speak will be able to talk to everyone since they are speaking the same language. Not every child can successfully learn to speechread. For this reason, speechreading needs to be combined with using hearing aids to help the child understand. This kind of program requires a great deal of effort on the part of the family for the child to be successful. If the children are in mainstreamed classes they will probably receive special assistance from a teacher of hearing impaired children to assist with academic tutoring, and from a speech-language pathologist who will assist with speech and language skills.