Headline :Cued Speech enables deaf children to talk

NST
Date :01/11/2004
Page:10
Byline :By R.S. Kamini
Type : News Feature

KUALA LUMPUR, Sun. - Aini Ali was resigned to never hearing her deaf son speak.
Like most parents with deaf children, she thought the only way her son could communicate with her was through sign language.
Aini enrolled her son, Nazri, in pre-school when he was six where he learnt sign language. He started to communicate by signing, but he stopped trying to speak altogether.
Then she heard about "Cued Speech".
Aini signed up for a course in Cued Speech at a centre in Cheras. There she learnt the basics; how to break words into syllables and how to coach her son to say them out loud. Within a year, he was gamely forming words.
According to Aini, when Nazri was pronounced deaf, doctors said his vocal cords were perfectly normal.
"Nazri can speak, but when he uses sign language he refrains from speaking. Cued Speech basically cured him," said Aini.
The Cued Speech centre is run by the National Society for the Deaf (NSD). It is the only centre in the country applying the Cued Speech method.
NSD vice-president Tan Chin Guan said it was a common misconception that if a child is born deaf, they will eventually be mute too.
"This is not true. Generally deaf children only suffer from partial hearing impairment and have perfectly functional vocal organs," said Tan.
Tan said in some ways, teaching deaf children sign language alone may do more harm than good and most deaf children end up mute.
Tan said almost 90 per cent of deaf children grow up to be illiterate adults and end up jobless.
"By using sign language alone, a deaf person could end up not only socially deprived, but dependent on others all their lives," said Tan.
"Cued speech, however, if combined with sign language and assisted with hearing aids, can make a big difference as the child would not only be able to slightly hear but also lip-read and talk to communicate," said Tan.
Tan said cued speech was initially introduced in English but works even better with Bahasa Malaysia because words can be broken down into simple pronounceable syllables.
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