Lip-reading
Lip-reading (sometimes called speechreading) is the ability to understand speech by carefully watching a person's lip patterns and the movement of their tongue and face.
From a very young age, most children begin to recognise the lip patterns of familiar words. Most deaf children naturally try to lip-read when they’re communicating, especially in noisy conditions. Some deaf children are naturally better at lip-reading than others.
Learn more about choosing a communication approach.
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Only a small percentage of speech can be lip-read. While lip-reading can be an important skill for deaf children to have, relying on lip-reading alone will not be enough for your child to understand speech. A deaf child will need extra information to understand what’s being said.
How to make lip-reading easier for your child
You can help make lip-reading easier by doing the following.
- Make sure your child knows what you’re speaking about (give context).
- Use gestures and facial expressions to support understanding.
- Position yourself so your child can clearly see your face.
- Make sure there is good lighting.
- Make sure your child's hearing aids or other hearing technology are working properly.
- Speak clearly and at a natural pace. Speaking very slowly or with exaggerated lip patterns can make it harder to lip-read.
- Don’t stand with your back to bright light as this can make facial features unclear.
- Try not to move around too much so your lips are easier to follow.
- Keep moustaches and beards (if you have one) trimmed so they don’t cover lips.
- Try not to eat or chew while talking.
- Don’t cover your mouth while talking.
- If you need to wear a face mask, consider wearing a clear mask or visor.
Children will find it easier to lip-read if they’re familiar with the topic, or if it’s something they’re expecting. For example, they’re more likely to effectively lip-read phrases their parents say regularly, such as “Put your pyjamas on” at bedtime, than new information about an unfamiliar topic. Children will also find it easier to lip-read people they know well or who have familiar accents.
Lip-reading takes a lot of concentration, and lip-reading for long periods of time is likely to cause concentration fatigue. Children who lip-read will need regular breaks. Find out more about concentration fatigue.
In general, children find it harder to lip-read than adults because they have less experience and less contextual knowledge. For most deaf children, their ability to lip-read will improve naturally as they get older.
For more advice about communication, see our deaf-friendly communication tips.