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THIS PAGEA Parent's Guide to Hearing Loss
Produced by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program
Cued Speech
Cued Speech is a building block that helps children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing better understand spoken languages.
When watching a person's mouth, many speech sounds look the same on the face even though the sounds heard are not the same. For instance, the words "mat", "bat", and "pat" look the same on the face even though they sound very different. When "cueing" English, the person communicating uses eight hand shapes and four places near the mouth to help the person looking tell the difference between speech sounds. Cued Speech allows the child to make out sounds and words when they are using other building blocks, such as speech reading (lip reading) or auditory training (listening).
Like all building blocks, you can start using cued speech when your child is a baby. Experts in Cued Speech can work with you and your baby. This building block is often used with other building blocks such as speech reading or auditory training.
Glossary
Building Block(s): "Building Blocks" refers to the different skills that parents can use to help their child learn language. There are many types of building blocks, and a family can pick and choose the building block (or blocks) that work best for their child and family. The following is a list of many commonly used building blocks.
Even though American Sign Language (ASL) is not a building block, it is sometimes used together with one or more building blocks.
Cued Speech (Building Block): Cued Speech (sometimes called "cueing") is a building block that helps children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing better understand spoken languages. Many speech sounds look the same on the face even though the sounds are different. For instance, the words "mat", "bat", and "pat" look the same on the lips and mouth. When "cueing" English, the person communicating uses eight hand shapes and four places near the mouth to help the person looking tell the difference between speech sounds.
Speech Reading: Speech reading (lip reading) is a building block that helps a child with hearing loss understand speech. The child watches the movements of a speaker's mouth and face, to understand what the speaker is saying. About 40% of the sounds in the English language can be seen on the lips of a speaker in good conditions — such as a well-lit room where the child can see the speaker's face.
Auditory Training / Listening: Many children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may still have some amount of hearing. This is called residual hearing. Some parents of a child with residual hearing may choose to use a building block called listening (auditory training). This building block is often used together with assistive devices such as hearing aids and cochlear implants.
For more information or to order additional copies of "A Parent's Guide to Hearing Loss" visit CDC's website at www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/ehdi.