Cue Faqs

Q: Is my child too old to learn Cued Speech?
A: All ages of people, from toddlers to grandparents can learn to cue. Many students come to Canterbury Woods Elementary after attending other schools, learn Cued American English, and immediately begin using it in the classroom.

Q: My child has a cochlear implant, how would he benefit from Cued Speech?

A: Cued Speech is used in conjunction with cochlear implants, hearing aids, and FM's. There are times when equipment fails (dead batteries, broken parts), is impractical (bathing, swimming, sports), or is insufficient (crowded rooms, across distances, whispers, loud venues). As one of our students said: "My cochlear implant helps me hear. Cued Speech helps me understand."

Q: What is a phoneme?
A: A phoneme is the smallest contrasting unit of language. In other words, the "sounds" that we put together to make spoken utterances, such as /k/+/a/+/p/=cap. There are about 42 phonemes in English, and when we rearrange them, we can make over 600,000 English words. Using Cued American English, all of these words can be "heard" by the deaf person!

Q: How large is the Cued Speech population in Fairfax County?
A: Cued Speech is used by dozens of students in Fairfax County Public Schools and thousands of persons in the United States and world wide.

Q: What if English is not the language of the home?
A: The great thing about Cued Speech is that families can use their native language to communicate at home. Cued Speech has been adapted for close to 60 languages. Cued Spanish classes will soon be available at Canterbury Woods Elementary.

Q: Is Cued Speech being used to instruct children with other special needs?
A: Cued Speech is being used with children with Autism, Down Syndrome, articulation disorders, and other learning disabilities. For more information, visit www.cuedspeech.org.

Q: How long does it take the average parent to learn how to cue?
A: To learn the Cued American English system, it takes about 15 hours. Similar to learning how to type, cues are practiced until speed and fluency increase to the rate of speech. Usually with a few months of consistent cueing, parents report that they able to cue comfortably with their children and can be that necessary language model.

Q: Once my child learns to cue, will there always be a Cued Language Transliterator available to facilitate communication for him/her?
A: When deaf cuers are at school, they will have a Cued Language Transliterator (Educational Interpreter) available to facilitate communication between them and the school staff, or them and their peers. Plus, all Fairfax County School sponsored events, sports, clubs, etc have transliterators available upon request.

Q:How does Cued Speech help with my child's speech therapy?
A: Although Cued Speech was invented by Dr. Orin Cornett to raise the literacy rate among the deaf population, the Speech/Language

Pathologists at Canterbury Woods Elementary use Cued Speech and find that the kinesthetic link it provides is an aid in targeting articulation goals.

Q: Should my child still learn ASL?
A: Many of our deaf students who learn English via Cued Speech go on to study American Sign Language as their second language. This bilingualism gives them flexibility and confidence in both language arenas.

Q: How can my hearing children learn to cue?
A: Cued Speech classes are available for all ages and for everyone. Siblings, relatives, babysitters, and hearing classmates are encouraged to take classes. Check the links on this web site for class dates and upcoming Cue Camps.