When I was learning to Cue

Many 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.

Jabberwocky

Jabberwocky (in cued English with subtitles)

I wanted to share this YouTube video. It shows the Louis Carroll poem Jabberwocky being Cued. It also has subtitles for those who cannot cue read. Jabberwocky is a literary classic, but was meant by Carroll as a parody designed to show how not to write a poem. According to Alice in Through the Looking-Glass, “Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas – only I don’t exactly know what they are!”.

If the video does not appear appear in the area above, you should be able to find it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5hiRL2ujM4

What happened to Brian’s posts?

Over the last week, Brian published several new posts expressing the feelings and personal experiences derived from his use of the various methods of communication available to deaf and hard of hearing individuals.  These posts generated a number of comments.  Unfortunately, over the weekend Brian choose to leave WeCue! and in the process felt it best to remove all of his posts.  Unfortunately, all of his posts were removed before anyone knew of his decision.  I apologize to anyone who was following or commenting on his posts. I feel his posts were interesting and insightful even though not everyone agreed with his opinions.  His posts made people think and they encouraged an ongoing dialog.  I’m sorry to see Brian leave WeCue!  Brian, we wish you well.

Cueing vs. Cue Reading

A recent comment to one my earlier posts made me stop and consider the differences in learning to Cue vs. learning to Cue Read and consequently allowed me to contemplate on one of my own personal dilemmas.  Tasha left a comment stating that she was relieved to learn that a hearing individual did not always understand phonics or have phonemic awareness. She had always assumed that this was something that came naturally to the those of us who hear.  Since she also left a link back to her own blog, I followed that link to learn a little more about her.  I learned from her blog that she uses a cochlear implant, and is hoping to find a more satisfying method to get all the information presented in her classes than the methods she’s used so far.  As an option she was considering a class on Cued Speech.  I wrote a comment back to her which I want to reiterate here and perhaps expand on it a bit.  What differences are there in learning to Cue vs. learning to Cue Read?  Tasha said that she wanted to learn to cue, so I encouraged her not to go take the classes alone.  I suggested that she find a friend or relative who would take the class with her.  My point being that she would need someone to cue TO her in order to learn how to Cue Read well enough for it to become a useful tool for her.  Perhaps my perspective on this is skewed since I am a hearing individual, but I just can’t see how one can become good at Cue Reading all alone.  Is it possible?  Is there a way to do this?  Can a person learn to Cue Read on their own, and if so how?

As a hearing individual, I found that I could practice my cueing while I was alone. I could cue in the car to the news or commercials coming over the radio. I could cue while reading a book. I could cue while walking or exercising and listening to my iPod. I didn’t have to cue to another person to improve my skill. I just had to practice. But, I have to admit, I’m a horrible Cue Reader. I can’t always tell what someone cues back to me unless I hear them speak. Why is that? Because no one cues to me! My son knows I can understand him when he responds verbally, so he doesn’t find it necessary to cue to me. Therefore, he gets lazy and won’t bother. I’m not often around enough native cuers to get good practice at Cue Reading.

In order to teach my hearing impaired son to cue, we cued TO him. He began to absorb the visual cues the same way a hearing person absorbs the spoken language around them. How do I now better learn to Cue Read?

I’ve given up on requesting that my son cue to me.  Some battles with teenagers are just not worth it, and this is one battle that’s just not worth taking on.  Hence, I must look to other avenues.  When I cue to a cueing adult and they do not cue back to me, is it impolite to ask them to cue back?  Would I be implying that they are not speaking well?  I don’t want to imply that. I don’t want to make them feel self conscious over their own verbal abilities.  I just want practice Cue Reading.  What is the appropriate etiquette in this situation?

Back To School

Many school districts have been back in school for a week or more, but Fairfax County Schools began classes this week.  As everyone finds themselves slipping back into those school day routines, it a good time to take a look at what our own expectations are for our children.  Parents need to help their children build the skills they will need for life-long success.  It’s up to us to set the goals high.  As much as we want to, we can’t make everything easier for our kids.  We have to teach our kids to work hard, set high goals of their own, and we also have to teach them to cope with disappointments when they occur. 

As parents we can’t leave everything up to our kids though.  We need to be there to smooth the transitions and make sure everything is in place to kick-off a successful school year.  As a parent we need to take an active role in our children’s education.  We should meet their teachers and set up a method for an open and ongoing dialog.  We need to make sure all the technology our children need is working optimally.  Don’t leave anything to chance.  Make sure the school has tested any assistive devices you child will be using.  Has your child had a hearing test?  Have their hearing aids or cochlear implants been tested?  Have you communicated any changes or needs to the school audiologist?  Are there back up batteries available to your child during the school day? 

Parents also have to remember that their actions are the most important models in their children’s lives.  Look at your own reading habits.  Do you make reading a part of your day?  If you don’t, what message does that send to your child?  Whether your children are preschoolers or teens, they need to see that you take reading as seriously as you tell them to take it.  A recent report from the National Endowment for the Arts, shows that “Americans in almost every demographic group were reading fiction, poetry, and drama - and books in general - at significantly lower rates than 10 or 20 years earlier.”  What impact does this have?  The data from the study suggests that reading transforms the lives of individuals.  Reading correlates with financial and job success, it correlates in fact with almost every measurement of positive personal and social behavior.  Deficient readers are less likely to become active in civic and cultural life, most notably in volunteerism and voting.  So, while the majority of Americans are taking less interest in reading, as the parents of  hearing impaired children, it is incumbent on us to strive to do better. 

As the parents of children with a hearing impairment, it’s going to take more work on our part to foster a positive attitude toward reading.  This of course, is where Cued Speech plays a very crucial role.  The Cued Speech system enables those who are deaf or hard of hearing to visually absorb language (English in our case).  This includes all the phonemic structure of the English language.  Cueing provides visual access to phonemic structure, which leads to phonemic awareness and phonemic decoding skills necessary to decode language and become proficient in reading.  Cueing provides those building blocks that give our hearing impaired children the vocabulary and language interaction they need to become proficient readers.  Remember to read to your children and remember to cue to them too; and not just during reading time, but all the time.  Remember to allow your children to see you reading for your own enjoyment.  You’ll both benefit.  Have a great school year!

Cue Camp Virginia Is Coming!

CCVA is coming!  The information and registration forms are online now at Cue Camp Virginia.  There are new forms and new scholarship opportunities, especially if you’re a family with a deaf/HOH preschooler, and you live in the Northern Virginia area.  The Fairfax Lions Club has graciously supplied funds to provide scholarships to these Northern Virginia preschool families.  For families with a newly diagnosed child it’s important to learn the system for Cued Speech and begin using it as soon as possible.  Read this information sheet from NCSA on Cueing with Babies.

So, to those of you out there who think it’s a great idea that Lions Clubs support Cued Speech, I urge you to find your local Lions Club and join it!  If you live in Northern Virginia you might want to consider joining the Fairfax Lions.  If you live in other areas, join a club and help them to learn more about Cued Speech. 

OK, enough about Lions for now.  This post is supposed to be about Cue Camp Virginia!  It’s time to register and get ready for this once a year event.  Don’t miss out!

Support from Fairfax Lions

In Northern Virginia, a major supporter of NVCSA is the Fairfax Lions Club.  For the Fairfax 4th of July Parade, the Fairfax Lions, along with members of NVCSA, participated in the parade raising awareness for the Lions, NVCSA, Cued Speech, and the Car Donation Program which helps to support Cue Camp Virginia.  There were even some local Cue Kids who got to go along for the ride. 

Now What? (Choices part 2)

So, here we were with a child, who’d most likely developed his hearing impairment at the age of 3, who was now 7 years old and in 2nd grade.  Because of his other health issues, he was already in a classroom with small group instruction.  I wasn’t prepared to even think about changing schools.  I’d just become comfortable and confident in the teachers and staff at this school!  The audiologist who fit him for hearing aids seemed to think that his high tech hearing aids would be all he needed.  Her advise was to let him learn to use his technology.  So when the school called a re-eval meeting to provide hearing services to this newly diagnosed hearing impaired child, I had very little idea what I was getting myself into.  I was prepared to keep him in the school he was in.  After all, he already had small group instruction, and a new FM which would boot to his new hearing aids was on order.  What more could they offer? 

As I recall, I’d only briefly met the Itinerant who came to my son’s school to provide deaf education services.  There was another boy at this particular school who also had a hearing impairment and she was already coming to the school to provide services to him.  She was of course the person who represented the Deaf/HOH program at the re-eval meeting.  She began explaining modalities to us.  I had no clue what she was talking about.  “Modality?”  “What the heck is a modality?”  I’m sure she could see my eyes glazing over and the walls coming up.  Then she began talking about which school he should go to.  That was it!  I wasn’t interested in talking about changing schools.  She was a deaf education teacher, she should be coming here to teach him! My first assumption was that if he were in a hearing impaired school that he would be taught in ASL.  How was I supposed to start communicating with a 7 year old, whom I’d always spoken to, in a new language which I didn’t even know?  How would I be able to help him with his homework?  I finally began to understand that there were 3 programs available within Fairfax County, (though I didn’t yet understand why there were 3).  Somewhere within the discussion I began to see the need for a change in venue, but to where?  To me, a hearing individual, I saw the benefit to a program which taught my child in English.  I wanted to be able to communicate with my son in English, not something else.  His verbal skills were already delayed, I wanted an educational setting which would be best capable of bringing that delay up to grade level. When they explained how the school that used ASL would often teach classes without speaking the words, I knew that could not be the right choice for my child. He already did understand a certain level of English.  He understood plurals and even had some concept of when to use past tense although he didn’t use it well. This is when the discussion turned to Cued Speech. 

The representative from the Deaf/HOH program really wanted us to visit the school which used Cued Speech.  She had tried to explain Cued Speech to me, but I have to admit, the concept was too foreign to me.  I couldn’t understand how it would work. The administrator of the current school whole heartedly agreed to a visit and basically held my hand in order to make me go.  So, off we went on our own little field trip. I met the lady who was the coordinator for the CLT’s and she was very energetic and seemed to understand what my son needed for the classroom.  We briefly met the audiologist who was quite confident that the transition could be easily made to this school.  But, what “sold” me was watching the children who attended this school.  We stood at the door of the pre-school classroom watching the children interact with the teachers and with one another as well.  I watched as one little girl, who was described to me as nearly profoundly deaf, was called on (and cued to) to describe the color the teacher pointed to.  As she clearly and intelligibly said “GREEN” while cueing it back to the teacher as well, I realized I was in the right place.  Here were children with hearing losses more profound than my son’s; who were responding to questions, understanding, communicating, interacting with one another, and they were doing so in English.  I was amazed.  We stopped to watch in the classroom which contained the children in my son’s own grade level.  The two boys in the classroom especially stood out.  I watched and wondered “would these children be my son’s new friends, his buddies?” 

The next step would be to learn this new “system” of Cued Speech.  I didn’t even really know what a phoneme was.  I’d never been taught phonics in school.  My year in school had been taught to spell and read with the “whole word” method.   I didn’t think of words in terms of sounds or groups of sounds, but rather as letters strung together.  I was going to have to break my habit of thinking of typing letters as opposed to breaking down sounds.  When I thought the word “cat” I would think of the letters: c-a-t.  I’d never learned to think of it as the sounds:  /ka/-/t/.  I was going to have to rethink my own approach to language. 

Post-Lingually Deaf (Choices part 1)

To understand how our family came to choose Cued Speech, you should probably understand a little bit of my son’s history. He was not born with a hearing impairment, but to say that he’s medically complicated is a bit of an understatement.  He seemed like the perfect child at birth, but what no one knew was that he didn’t have a working immune system. The really short version of that story is that he ended up hospitalized for months on a ventilator, and had a bone marrow transplant.  His immune system still isn’t perfect, but it’s better than what he started with. We suspect that he lost his hearing after a battle with peritonitis, which he almost did not survive; this happened just before his third birthday.  It was the use of ototoxic IV antibiotics which saved his life, but also led to his hearing loss.  Because of his weak immune system and bone marrow transplant he was not allowed to be in any type of preschool with other children.  We did have homebound instruction with teachers and therapists provided by the county, but they were required to wear surgical masks and gloves to protect him from the risks of another infection. It wasn’t until he began Kindergarten that was finally allowed to be with small groups of children.  Another twist to this story comes from the fact that his hearing impairment was not diagnosed until he was 7 years old and in 2nd grade.  Between the ages of 3 and 7 his hearing was tested, but we were told that he had a processing disorder, not a hearing loss.  Because of what they said was a processing disorder, he was provided an FM system for the classroom.  This consisted of a set of head phones connected to a receiver that looked something like a Walkman, but the only "channel" he could get was the teacher.  The teacher wore a microphone and a transmitter which sent the signal to his "Walkman".  The purpose of the FM system was to make it easier for him to distinguish what he should listen to and focus on.  This was supposed to help him learn how to process what he was hearing. We later learned that this "crutch" was the only thing that enabled him to learn language during those early school years.  It was during his 2nd grade year that we went UVA’s Kluge Center for an unrelated therapy program that the therapists there insisted that we have another hearing test performed.  I explained that we’d had them done and what the results were, but they just wanted to see for themselves.  Good thing!  The audiologist there determined that he was not only hearing impaired, but fell in the range of moderately to severely deaf!  We were shocked, angry, guilt ridden and confused.  How could this be?  We’d had his hearing tested!  We’d had it tested more than once!  I later came to learn that I wasn’t the only parent who’s child had been tested for a hearing loss and incorrectly told that was no hearing loss, but that will have to be included in the next part of this story. 

Great Cued Speech Video

I can’t find a way to import the video to this website, so I’m going to have to give you a link back to the blog belonging to José Reyes: Not A Box - Cued Speech Final.  José is the audiology grad student mentioned in Aaron’s post "The Cued Speech Program in Fairfax County, Virginia".  His video is a great example if you’d like to watch someone cue.

Barb