Webster’s online dictionary defines lipreading as “perceiving what a person is saying by observing the movements of the lips”.
However, anyone who has to use lipreading as a means of communication will tell you this gives a rather simplified view of what is involved in lipreading. It implies that if you just watch the speaker’s lips, all that is said will be understood.
Lipreading does involve looking at the speaker’s
lip movements, but in order to make sense of what is being seen there
is a lot of mental work going on that an onlooker just doesn’t see.
An onlooker may think that someone who is lipreading is simply looking at the speaker, but in fact they are very busy:
· Watching and interpreting speech movements
· Watching and interpreting facial expressions
· Watching and interpreting body language
· Remembering what they have already seen and keeping it in mind until they can make sense of the whole sentence
· Using their knowledge of the language to make sense of what they've seen and fill in any words that have been missed
· Using their knowledge of the topic to make sense of what they've seen and fill in any words that may have been missed
· Guesswork - guessing at words that may have been missed or which could be a different word e.g. lots of words look similar on the lips such as "thirty" and "thirteen"
· Anticipating what might come up next
· If the person who is lipreading has some useful hearing they have to match what they hear with what they see
Speechreading
Some people prefer to use the American term “speechreading” as they feel that the term “lipreading” implies that the only clue that is used is the movement of the lips. As we have seen above there is much more to it than that.
Where can I find a lipreading class?
Lipreading classes can provide practise in lipreading, strategies for difficult situation, information on useful equipment, useful organisations, local services and self-help groups. A lipreading class also gives you a chance to meet people in a similar situation to yourself.
The methods used to teach lipreading and strategies vary from class to class, depending on the teacher, but very often include:
Lipreading practise
Theory of lipreading
Speech movements
Games
Fingerspelling
Problem solving exercises
The Association of Teachers of Lipreading to Adults (ATLA) maintains a list of lipreading classes.
For information about lipreading classes in your area click here.
You could also try asking at your local adult edcation venues or audiology clinic to see if they have any information on local classes.