What is Cued Speech?
Cued Speech is a communication system that combines hand cues
with the natural mouth movements of speech in a way that allows a
deaf or hard-of-hearing person to have complete visual access to
spoken language.
Basically, the speaker “Cues” the sounds or “phonemes” of spoken
language by using eight distinct hand gestures or “hand shapes” in
any one of four distinct locations near the mouth. As
the speaker Cues consonant/vowel syllables in synchronization with
speech, with or without hearing any sound at all, the deaf or
hard-of-hearing person “sees” exactly what is being said –
with 100% accuracy.
What are the benefits of Cued Speech?
Since Cued Speech provides 100% access to the sounds of spoken
language, the deaf child is able to acquire English (or any spoken
language) easily and naturally in much the same way as a hearing
child does. This provides him with the language base and
phonemic awareness that he will need to learn to read and write at
the same young age as his hearing peers. Deaf children who use
Cued Speech generally attain English language and literacy levels
equal to or better than those of their hearing peers.
Because Cued Speech is phonetically based, the deaf child is
completely aware of all of the sounds that make up each word in his
language base, as he acquires it. Knowing the sounds that
comprise each word is a first essential step in enabling the child
to imitate the word. And Cued Speech is a valuable tool for
parents, teachers, and speech therapists who want to help him to
develop and improve his speech skills.
Cued Speech and American Sign Language (ASL)
95% percent of children who are deaf or hard of hearing are born
to hearing parents. If the parents must learn a whole new language –
typically American Sign Language (ASL) or a modified version of ASL
known as Signed English – the child will only acquire language
as quickly the parents are able to learn this new language and teach
it to them. Cued Speech is a visual code for transmitting
English, not a different language. It can be learned in less than 20
hours of instruction. Parents are able to fully communicate with
their children, in their own native language, almost
immediately.
With Cued Speech, since the deaf child is learning the language
spoken by the rest of the family, the child can communicate with
everyone in the family, and not just with those who were able to
take the time to learn to Cue – or to learn a whole new language,
such as American Sign Language, to communicate with him.
Once a child is proficient in English (or any spoken
language), it is much easier for that child to communicate with
hearing people who do not Cue or sign, via his combined lip reading
and auditory skills.
If a deaf child is born to a family where the parents are also
deaf, and ASL is the native language of the family, that child will
most likely learn ASL as his primary language – and may learn
English as a second language via the use of Cued Speech.
Likewise, a deaf child who learns English via Cued Speech as his
first language may learn ASL as a second language. This is
desirable if it is a goal for the child to one day be able to
socialize with other deaf individuals who sign.
Cued Speech and Literacy
Delayed acquisition of language caused by hearing loss often
hampers the ability to learn to read. As a result, the average deaf
adult who had a traditional deaf education reads at or below a fifth
grade level. Cued Speech facilitates the achievement of an
individual’s full potential for literacy.
Results of research studies have consistently shown that native
deaf Cuers with no additional learning or information processing
disabilities have achieved literacy levels comparable to or better
than their hearing peers. The studies that focus on deaf
Cueing children (aged 7-16) have shown them to outperform deaf
signing and oral peers on several standardized reading and writing
tests. Recent data show that deaf adult Cuers decode phonemic
information much as hearing adults do (National Cued Speech
Association).
Case Studies done on nine deaf students that attended AGBMS,
during 1997-2004, show that each of these students left our program
with reading levels at or above grade level based on scores from the
Stanford Test of Achievement.
All of these students are now mainstreamed in their local public
schools or attending other private schools or colleges.
