Chris Griffiths, International Development, THRASS UK, writes about groundbreaking software allowing deaf children to be taught using synthetic phonics.

The THRASS synthetic phonics programme is widely accepted as having the potential to more than double the normal rate of progress for reading and spelling in English, and soon it will also be possible to use synthetic phonics to teach deaf children through a new Cued Speech version of the groundbreaking THRASS Phoneme Machine software.

The THRASS Phoneme Machine, which uses moving human lips to pronounce sounds in hundreds of frequently used English words, is a key component of the THRASS (Teaching Handwriting Reading And Spelling Skills) programme pioneered by British Educational Psychologist, Alan Davies.

The Phoneme Machine develops a good understanding of the 44 sounds and the 120 main spelling choices of English.
This is largely achieved by “blending all the sounds through a word”, a key recommendation of the British Government’s report on Synthetic Phonics.
The programme is suitable for learners of all ages and abilities and has been found to be particularly helpful to parents of children starting to read, children finding reading difficult and those for whom English is not their first language. It also includes interactive Calendar Charts for a number of languages, with children’s voices saying the days, dates, months, numbers from one to 20, ten main colours and 26 letters of the alphabet.

Talking point
The value of the Phoneme Machine was recognised in the September 2007 edition of Independent Talking Points, the magazine of the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice, in which Catherine Redmayne, the editor, wrote, “I would have paid just for some bits of this programme. Considering the whole thing was free to download, it was a wonderful offering from THRASS.”

This latest version of the Phoneme Machine, version V6-CS, is in response to a request from the Cued Speech Association UK to make this accessible to deaf children through Cued Speech, and is being developed by THRASS UK as part of its corporate social responsibility programme.

In Cued Speech, each phoneme has a visual representation. These sound-based units of speech give deaf children access to spoken and written English. Cued Speech uses lip-reading and eight hand-shapes in four different positions near the mouth to represent the 44 sounds of English. It is estimated that, usually, as little as 30% of what is said is actually lip-read. However, the combination of the hand shape, the hand position and the lip shape in Cued Speech makes every sound of spoken language clear, so that 96% of spoken language can be lip-read accurately.

Some teachers of the deaf believe thatlow literacy levels for deaf children are inevitable. For instance, the Cued Speech Association UK was once asked to provide training to help some ‘failing’ deaf children, but not others in the school who were ‘succeeding’. The teacher believed these did not need help because they were only two years behind hearing children.

Cued speech and literacy
Cued Speech is also uniquely helpful with literacy. A wide body of international research shows that profoundly deaf children who have had constant access to Cued Speech achieve literacy levels equivalent to hearing children of the same age. Children who have had this consistent access to Cued Speech can think in ‘spoken’ language even if they have not heard it. They are able to read by applying their particular knowledge of phonemes to written language. It is this internalised language that allows deaf children who have been brought up with Cued Speech to develop normal reading skills and to improve their lip-reading competence and speech. The ability to acquire full, complete, internalised spoken language without delay is the base on which these other benefits depend.

In version V6-CS of the Phoneme Machine, the Cued Speech handshapes, positions and movements of the hands for the 44 sounds of English are displayed alongside moving human lips, with the cue for each of the 500 basewords of English demonstrated in a video box.

High quality phonic work
The British Government considers “high quality phonic work” the best means for teaching beginner readers how to read and spell, and the teaching of literacy through phonics is part of the National Curriculum. The Government’s guidance on the use of phonics can only be applied to deaf children if, but only if, they have access to Cued Speech. French language research demonstrates that deaf children can learn to read using the same techniques as hearing children through Cued Speech.

This will tackle the long-term problem of deaf children’s lack of access to English and their low educational and literacy levels, which are accepted as being inevitable by many professionals. Deaf children brought up with Cued Speech use phonics strategies when they learn to read just as hearing children do, so that they can ‘sound out’ words they do not know, and also work out how to spell new words that they have seen cued. Version V6-CS will make it possible for deaf children to work independently, both in school and at home.

Version V6-CS will be available as a free download from the THRASS website within the territory that THRASS UK is licensed to serve but the plan is to make the software accessible to as many children as possible. For this reason, Alan Davies and Anne Worsfold will be seeking a meeting with Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, to demonstrate the new software and to request that each Local Authority appoints at least one ‘Cued Speech Champion’, who will work with all health centres, nurseries and schools to ensure that deaf children are not forgotten in the Government’s Every Child A Talker – a programme that stresses the vital importance of good early communication skills in all children.

www.thrass.co.uk/cuedspeech.htm.

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