Diagnostic factors bearing on the use of cued speech with hearing-impaired children

Cued Speech is a system which utilizes eight hand configurations and four locations of either hand for supplementing the visible manifestations of normal speech in such a way as to effectively eliminate the ambiguities of lipreading. Its effects upon language development and oral communication skills, supported by research data, suggest that it is a useful technique for inclusion in the array of tools available for use with young, hearing-impaired children. Use of diagnostic teaching, in addition to audiometric and other evaluations, is recommended for evaluation of conditions which suggest or discourage the choice of Cued Speech as a communication modality. Children are exposed to diagnostic teaching sequences in a progression which begins with auditory-only, then auditory/oral, then auditory/oral/cued speech, and finally (in some cases), manually coded English. In each stage, data should be collected on significant reactions and behavior for use in recommending a choice of communication mode.