When I was learning to Cue
Written by Barb Ballard on November 10th, 2008 | 5 CommentsMany hearing parents who learn to Cue for their hearing impaired or deaf child have learned to do so while their child is still quite young. Some as early as infancy, others during toddlerhood. Since my son was not diagnosed with a hearing impairment until 2nd grade, I was working with different developmental milestones than those parents who learned of their child’s hearing loss at a very early age. I took my first Cue Class in the Spring of the year when my son was in 2nd grade. I really did not get a good grasp of the concept though until I took the intermediate level class the next fall. By then, my son was in 3rd grade, and his school placement had been moved to Canterbury Woods, where he had CLTs and Cueing teachers. His use of Cued Speech blossomed very quickly. It was like a door had been opened for him. He was suddenly speaking more, using complete sentences, and correcting my Cueing. I was having to learn to Cue with a very different vocabulary than those who learn to Cue to their very young children. I wasn’t Cueing “Hop on Pop”. I had to Cue words like “Dumbledore” and “Hermione”. When we would focus on homework there were words like “Hammurabi” and “Mesopotamia”. These are not exactly the words a beginning Cuer wants to encounter!
As I said in an earlier post, I needed to learn to rethink my own approach to language. I have a tendency to speak very fast. People are always surprised to learn I’m from the south, since my rate of speech is so fast. It was very frustrating for me to try and Cue at a pace which would keep up with my rate of speech. I think things finally clicked for me when I began to relate my breakdown of the words I would Cue, to the breakdown of words in music. I’d played the piano since I was a child, and I’d sung in school and church choirs along the way, so reading music and reading the choral accompaniment to music was familiar. At some point while I was trying to come into my own rhythm of Cueing, I realized that if I thought of the words as if they were the refrain from a song, it became easier for me to Cue. I’m not sure if this approach simply slowed me down enough so that my burgeoning Cueing skill could keep up, or if there is some other type of connection between the fluency of Cueing and the fluidity of producing music. The two seemed like the perfect complement to one another though and it certainly helped me to progress in my skill.
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- About Barb Ballard
- Barb is the parent of a child with a moderate to severe hearing loss. Her son was diagnosed as post-lingually deaf and it is believed that his hearing loss was the result of intravenous antibiotics. She learned to cue after he was diagnosed as hearing impaired. Together with her husband Don, they live in rural Clifton, Virginia. Their son attends Fairfax County Public Schools where Cued Speech is supported by the Deaf/HOH program.
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November 10th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Just a thought to ponder…an interpreter was quoted in a blog recently as hoping that a deaf client would not be dependent on Cued Speech as most interpreters aren’t trained in it, and it is slow going when breaking words into component syllables when the ideas are flowing rapidly.
Cued Speech may have its place for certain kids and certain situations, but generally, it is more useful to know ASL by the time one is in college especially if one will need interpreters.
It takes about five years of daily use to become comfortable with understanding interpreters in lecture situations. This is based on personal experience–by the time I attended college, I could understand sign language one-on-one but not classroom or lecture interpreting until well into graduate school.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
There are a growing number of CLT’s available and they are trained in Cued Speech. Finding one has rarely been a problem for us. I’m not sure why you think my child would want an ASL interpreter when English is his first language. If a CLT were not available, I’m sure he’d prefer either a CART system or a note taker. The choice of method varies by individual though and I’m glad you found a method which works for you. That’s the whole point of having a variety of methods available. One size does not fit all.
November 11th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Times have changed, I see…when I was in university, CART, cued speech interpreters and other systems weren’t available.
As I understand it, availability is still a problem in areas where there isn’t a strong Cued Speech center, wheras ASL interpreters are far more available. CART being very expensive is another factor limiting availability.
My point was actually about ASL being more versatile as a method to bridge between Deaf and Hearing in education as well as other areas. For all children who will need auxiliary aids in the future, my advice is to add ASL to the package somewhere along the way as it does not harm language development (contrary to some beliefs) and it is potentially valuable at the advanced education level.
It is also potentially valuable to the young adult in moving between the Deaf and Hearing communities and finding a dual culturalism. Not to say that it is mandatory, as you say one size does not fit all, but it is just another tool in the child’s toolbox.
November 11th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I’ll agree with you that learning ASL does not hurt. In fact, now in high school, my son is taking ASL to fulfill his language requirements. High Schools here require 2 years of 2 different foreign languages, or 3 years of one foreign language. They allow ASL to be a language which meets that requirement. Learning any 2nd language is only as useful as the degree to which it will be used in the future. Let’s face it, I “don’t know much about the French I took…” (Sorry, just reverting into song there.) I hope that his learning ASL as a 2nd language will be more useful to him than my French was to me. I think it gives him more opportunities in the future in fact. But, English will remain his first language. If he’s in a class being taught in English, then a CLT will be the appropriate accommodation. If he’s in a class being taught in ASL, then of course he should be able to understand that as well.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:54 am
Barb,
Many deaf adults were not introduced to ASL until they were in their teens or as adults. Many people are not only saddened but also angry that they were not given access to it in their childhood and feel that they missed so much. Have you read the book “Alone in the Mainstream” by Gina Oliva. This might give you a better insight into finding ASL later in life. I learned a lot from this book as a mother myself.