It is an honor to announce that I have been selected as a finalist in the 2022 Oticon Focus on People Awards, a national competition that recognizes individuals who are helping to change perceptions of what it means to live with hearing loss. I am one of three finalists in the Advocacy category, a category … Continue reading
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Letter to My Daughter on Her Graduation Day
“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.” -Maya Angelou Lipreading Mom focuses on two things: living with hearing loss and being a parent. Today I would like to focus on parenting my children who are all … Continue reading
My Words to a Rockstar: When Face Masks and Hearing Loss Don’t Mix
The Foo Fighters is possibly the greatest rock band since The Rolling Stones and The Beatles (at least Lipreading Mom thinks so). I am currently reading through band leader Dave Grohl’s memoir, The Storyteller, and one thing I can tell you about Dave’s life is this: It’s been a LOUD ride. Being at the top … Continue reading
Lipreading Mom’s Interview with Hearing Loss LIVE!
I recently was interviewed for Hearing Loss LIVE!, a website dedicated to hearing loss awareness. Created by Chelle Wyatt, Julia Stepp, and Michele Linder (all of whom live with hearing loss), the HLL site’s philosophy is two-fold: “We help you help yourself” and “We’re changing the status quo of hearing loss help. One size does … Continue reading
Why the Film ‘CODA’ Matters to Me During the Pandemic
I did not grow up as a CODA or Child of a Deaf Adult. This is a hearing child who has one or both parents identify as culturally Deaf. The new Apple TV+ film ‘CODA’ highlights the experience of a teen girl who lives with her parents and an older brother, all of whom are … Continue reading
“But You Speak So Well”, and Other Comments (And Squeals) Overheard by Lipreading Mom
One of the most challenging aspects of my teaching job is lip-reading multiple speakers’ voices during group meetings. When hands go up for Q & A at the end of staff meetings, I try hard to decipher what is being spoken from multiple mouths scattered across the room. Of course, it helps when the meeting … Continue reading
Lessons in Advocacy from ALDA
This weekend, I had the opportunity to present the workshop “Thriving with Hearing Loss” at the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) national convention. This was my first ALDA event and, I must confess, ALDA members are some of the best advocates I have ever seen. Here is a glimpse at what I learned from listening … Continue reading
What is the Easiest Speech Sound to Lip Read?
I recently finished teaching a lip reading class in the Kansas City area. One of the questions I asked attendees was, “When it comes to lip reading, what is the most visible speech sound?” Several hands were raised. “The /M/ sound,” said a gentleman who lost some hearing in the military. “I think it’s the … Continue reading
Why Is Reading Lips So Hard?
Read my lips: Lipreading is tough. A while back, a producer with the Wanda Sykes Show emailed me, asking for help in understanding a news video clip. The idea sounded enticing: Come to California and watch a video blurb that had the speaker’s moving lips but no audio feed. The truth is, many words look … Continue reading
Did You Grow Up with Hearing Loss? Lipreading Mom Needs Your Help with “Project Language & Literacy”
My first experience with hearing loss occurred in kindergarten. When the teacher asked the class to listen to and respond to questions through headphones, all I heard through them was garbled speech. The audiologist later told my parents that I could hear normally, but that I just needed to pay attention. From the age … Continue reading