The optimization of hearing-impaired children's speechreading

As more hearing-impaired and deaf children are mainstreamed into regular schools and as age related hearing loss in advanced countries become more prevalent, so the need for optimal methods to teach speechreading increases. The numbers of children and adults who would benefit from improved methods of teaching speechreading must be considerable. No new methods of teaching speechreading have been developed since 1938. Speechreading is a skill that does not require complex technology, although it does augment the effectiveness of hearing aids. Increased knowledge of this skill would have great benefits in psychological, social and economic terms. Some relevant experimental psychological literature and the views of educators are discussed with the goal of contributing to the optimization of hearing-impaired children's speechreading.