Cued Language Transliterators and Direct Instruction at Schools
and Other Educational Institutions
A Position Statement of the National Cued Speech Association

  Available in PDF

The National Cued Speech Association believes that we must respect people who are deaf and hard of hearing and their chosen mode of communication. No one mode is preferred by all people, therefore no one mode is a substitute for another. We assert that those who prefer and request Cued Speech for language access be provided appropriate accommodations to maintain language continuity.

Teachers of the deaf, speech-language pathologists, language facilitators, and others assigned to the student who is deaf or hard of hearing should communicate by cueing accurately and consistently in order to provide direct linguistic access to instruction and thus bolster the foundation for academic literacy.

Cued language transliterators provide clients who are deaf or hard of hearing with access to the same auditory information that is available to hearing people. This concept of equal access to language information supports cultural and functional integration into society. It is also essential to maintaining the success achieved by students who are deaf or hard of hearing and who use Cued Speech for access to the language(s) in the classroom. Direct instruction in cued language and/or the use of a qualified cued language transliterator ensures equal access to all information, including environmental sounds.

Therefore, in an effort to provide equal access to all those who are deaf or hard of hearing, the National Cued Speech Association asserts that schools and educational institutions provide students who prefer Cued Speech with qualified cued language transliterating services upon request. This position is supported by federal and state laws that guarantee equal access to persons who are deaf and hard of hearing in a variety of settings, including the classroom.

—Original Statement adopted 8-5-1991
—Revised Statement adopted 4-14-2007

  More Positions

The NCSA Position Statements are available in PDF Format.