Your child might have a degree of hearing loss and be relying on lip reading facial cues although you may not be aware of the fact.
Lip reading isn't just about reading people's lips, but also involves reading body language to pick up vital clues as to how certain words are said.
As some children with a hearing loss may not be able to hear the words that are spoken directly to them, they have to learn to make sense of the shape of the words that they are introduced to. It requires intense concentration and can be very tiring for your child.
At times it is very easy to misread some words because they look similar on the mouth to other words even though they sound different i.e.
|
bat |
mat |
pat |
|
chip |
ship |
trip |
|
chain |
train |
drain |
Lip reading may aid your child's listening skills giving them some visual clues as to what a person is saying however they will need time to get used to your lip patterns.
When you talk to your child it is important to:
Face them and provide plenty of visual cues.
Things that will hinder lip reading are:
Looking away when speaking.
Mumbling.
Too many people talking at once.
Using exaggerated mouth patterns.
Talking whilst eating.
Covering your mouth with a book if reading.