Are any of you reading the new book “Cued Speech and Cued Language for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children”?  I’ve been reading my copy.  Have you found a favorite quote in the book yet?  One of my favorites is right in Chapter 1 which was written by Carol LaSasso.  Here’s an excerpt:

“There are two primary advantages of cued language over signed language for the 95% of parents of deaf children who are themselves hearing.  First, learning to cue a language that one already knows can be accomplished in a weekend.  Parents who do so can be fluent visual language models of English and other traditionally spoken languages for their deaf child in a very short period of time.  …

A second advantage of cued English over ASL is that it offers the same advantage in learning to read that English speaking children have, compared to children who are learning English as a Second Language.  This is, learning to read a language is much simpler for children who are familiar with the conversational form of that language before formal reading instruction than it is for children who are learning to read while simultaneously learning the language.”

I’m sure there are those who will see this quote and be ready to argue its validity, but this statement was not made off hand.  It was made based on years of research and experience with deaf students.  For 10 years, Dr. LaSasso directed diagnostic reading clinics for more than 400 deaf and hard of hearing children and their parents from multiple modalities. 

So, dear blog reader, have you found a favorite quote yet?  If so, please share it!