Spring 2015

e-news

Issue 63

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BBC's 'See Hear'

Filming Cued Speech at ERADE

In early February a team from the popular BBC program ‘See Hear’ were filming in Devon for a programme focused on Deaf children and literacy, looking at the impact of using Cued Speech.

‘See Hear’ spent a whole morning filming at the school of the Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education (ERADE) where they explored how the system of making spoken English visible could be used in the classroom with signing Deaf children. The Year 7 boys gave the BBC Crew a magnificent demonstration lesson and enjoyed their time in front of the camera. The film crew also interviewed Cate Calder, Cued English Tutor, and Kaye Stevenson, SENCO about the use of Cued Speech at the Deaf Academy.

Before arriving at ERADE, they had already interviewed two cueing families and visited a deaf boy in a mainstream school who uses a Cued Speech Transliterator to access information.

Do tune in to watch the film, and tell anyone you know who might be curious about Cued Speech – it could be just the thing they have been searching for. It will be broadcast on Wednesday 8th July at 8.15 am.

Let's Cue!

A new Cued Speech book: 'Me to You: Let's Cue!'

by Carly Simpson

Freelance tutor, Carly Simpson, has published a wonderful new book, using the alphabet and some simple words clarified by Cued Speech. The book is visually arresting, easy to understand and a really good starting point to help you learn to cue simple words. The book is available in paperback, hardback and eBook, and can be found by following the link below. It is not to be missed and we wish Carly all the best with her new endeavor.

You can find the book by following this link.

Cue Weekend 2015

This year, our Cue Camp is in autumn, and here in the office we are working hard to make sure that the 2015 Cue Weekend is as successful as last year.

We have secured the Slapton Ley Field Centre to accommodate the weekend, and are in the process of taking bookings for interested parties. This year’s weekend will be held from October 30^th to November 1^st, so we will look forward to some autumnal activities and seasonal foods to accompany a weekend of learning and improving on our attendees Cued Speech skills.

We know that our annual Cue Camp can be invaluable to parents, so in the past, where necessary, we’ve subsidised families’ attendance. This year, we are able to subsidise the crèche and family tuition and we’re also very grateful to the Field Studies Council - Slapton Ley for offering us children’s activities free of charge. We don’t (yet!) have funds to offer reduced price accommodation for families who could not otherwise attend. Can you help us raise funds through local activities or - at no additional cost to your selves – shopping?

Sue Tweed tells us how...

Supporting the Cued Speech Association UK

While I left the staff of CSA UK two years ago now, and have since got involved in plenty of other activities to keep me busy!, I still support this brilliant charity by helping to raise funds for their essential work to enable deaf kids achieve the same targets in life as hearing kids.

I do this by using easyfundraising EVERY TIME I buy anything online – it’s amazing how the donations add up, and at absolutely no cost or risk to me. For example, I bought a book on Amazon, a week’s holiday with Neilson and a short break with Easyjet and just these 3 purchases raised almost £50 for CSA UK! Just think if we all did that – fundraising would be so much easier for the small CSA staff team in Devon and they could spend all the more time working to make life better for deaf children and adults!

Easyfundraising is so easy to do – just get the App for iPhone/iPad, or go to the website and sign up – you can even get an easy ‘add-on’ that tells you whether you can get donations on a website you’re on - a great reminder to make an easy donation to the charity with no cost to you!

It’s simple to set up, simple to use, and simply wonderful to help this most worthwhile charity – just make sure you sign up for Cued Speech Association UK as your cause!

Best wishes to you all.

Having fun in retirement!

Sue Tweed

CueCognatio

'Go' video - with the rapper, Twista

This video is fast paced and fun and shows what cueing looks like when keeping in time with the world's fastest rapper. To view it follow this link.

Cued Speech and THRASS

THRASS (Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills), which was pioneered by British Educational Psychologist, Alan Davies, is a synthetic phonics program with a visual approach to teaching phonics to all children. Cued Speech and THRASS are a perfect combination for literacy where visual access is needed; this includes hearing children with speech processing difficulties as well as deaf children.

Our tutor, Cate Calder (for Babcock LDP) is running a one day workshop at the Westbank Healthy Living Centre in Exminster, Devon in May and we are attaching a flyer with full information should you wish to attend. This course will arm you with skills to understand the THRASS system, how it ties in with Cued Speech, and to give an overview of how the two systems can be applied together to improve on children’s learning and literacy. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please see the attached leaflet and contact Babcock LDP to book onto the course. Costs include lunch and a copy of the A3 Cued Speech THRASS chart.

For more information about using Cued Speech with THRASS for literacy, click here.

Or if Devon is too far away, contact the Cued Speech Association UK to arrange a workshop for your school or service.

Cued Speech is turning 50!

Cued Speech 50th Anniversary Conference, USA

We are passing on an invitation from the American Cued Speech community to join them for the Cued Speech 50th Anniversary Celebration and Gala Awards Dinner at the
Westin in Tyson Corner, VA, just outside of Washington DC, July 8-10, 2016.

The conference will have two tracks

Native cuers and family atmosphere
Professional and research-based presentations.

For the International Cueing Community Friday, July 8 will be dedicated to an International Cueing Symposium.

Sign up for ongoing information through this link.

Education - CS use with sign language

Internationally, Cued Speech and signed languages are often used together. The balance of use between the signed language of the country and the cued language (French, English etc.) varies – as does the attitude of the signing Deaf community.

We have a report by Win Burton of a Belgium school where: ‘The very positive outcome however is that from the earliest age, deaf and hearing are side by side on a completely level school bench: there are two languages and that is how it is… ‘This aspect of childhood does not feature on any school leaving certificate but is an inestimable outcome of any school education and a vital page in the passport to any deaf child’s future.’

Read Win’s report here.

Stèphane Martins

26 year old French computer engineer, Stèphane, is a cochlear implant user, a user of French sign language (LSF) and of the French version of Cued Speech (LPC). He tells us that he has very good understanding and use of written English, and that he wishes to improve his speech and understanding of English culture and also to take the French Test of English for International Communication.

Stèphane wants to spend 3 – 6 months in the UK improving his linguistic skills. Are you able to host Stèphane as a paid house guest? If so, then please contact Debbie at the CSAUK office and she will pass on your contact details to him.

More on Fundraising

The Cued Speech Association UK has also registered with Recycle4Charity, helping its thousands of members to raise funds for charity by recycling empty printer inkjet cartridges and mobile telephones. If you wish to support us by taking part in the recycling initiative, please contact the office for freepost envelopes, and raise funds for our charity. Every penny helps, so please get in contact.

Second to this, we will also be raising money by collecting used stamps. If you happen to have a lot of discarded stamps with no intention of recycling yourself, we are gathering as many as we can to help raise extra funds of the CSAUK. All you need to do is cut a 1cm margin around the stamp, gather them up, and post them to the office address with the contact “CSAUK Stamp Appeal” at the top of the envelope.

The CSAUK are always looking for new ways to raise funds to help spread the word and provide low-cost teaching of Cued Speech. We appreciate in advance all the support and kindness our members and affiliates provide.

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