Cued speech uses hand shapes and the placement of the hands in different locations near the mouth to indicate vowel phonemes, consonant phonemes and syllables. There are eight different hand shapes to represent consonant phonemes. There are four locations near the mouth that are used to represent vowel phonemes. Using a hand shape and using a location near the mouth represents syllables. Hand shapes and hand locations are used to help an individual reading lips better understand what a speaker is saying.
Cued speech helps children who cannot hear the spoken word learn to read and understand written language. Learning cued speech also helps a child learn the phonological code in his own language, a code that is important to emerging literacy. Once a child has a phonemic language base, he should have an easier time learning to read written words.
A child who cannot hear the sounds made by others has a difficult time learning to speak using her own voice. Learning cued speech can help a deaf child learn to talk, despite not being able to hear the words she is saying. Cued speech teaches a child to focus on the mouth when being spoken to, and she learns how to copy lip, mouth and tongue movements needed to produce words. She also learns how to emphasize different phonemes in words and sentences.
Children who are deaf and are able to receive a cochlear implant can particularly benefit from cued speech when transitioning into the hearing world. Cues speech helps a child process auditory information, even if the sounds he is hearing are distorted or incomplete. In essence, cued speech helps a child with a cochlear implant understand the that sounds he is hearing are the same words he has been speech-reading.
Learning cued speech can help an individual with a hearing impairment long after childhood has ended. Children who learn cued speech develop reading and writing skills equal to those of their hearing peers. This allows them to do well in school, college and in the workforce. The emphasis on lip reading makes it much easier for a deaf individual to understand what someone who does not know how to use cued speech is saying. Overall, cued speech improves the quality of life and strengthens the skills of deaf individuals, giving them a better chance at lifelong success.