| Leah Henegar Lewis, born in 1964, was the first
child to use Cued Speech. Born deaf from rubella, her parents
did not discover her deafness until she was two years old. After
meeting with Dr. Orin Cornett, Leah and her family became the
first cueng family. From the beginning, Leah made a lot of progress.
She was mainstreamed in public schools and was the first deaf
student to graduate from the Wake County Public Schools (North
Carolina). She attended and graduated from Wake Technical Community
College and landed a job at the Office of the North Carolina
Secretary of State as a data entry specialist, where she worked
for 14 years.
In 1990, Leah’s dream of being an actress was realized
when she played the lead character in “Children of the
Lesser God” at a community theatre in Raleigh, NC. Now,
a mother of three, Leah had a son, Michael, 9½ years
old, and twin girls, Rachel and Rebekah, both eight. She currently
works as a teacher’s assistant in the Martin Middle
Schools’ deaf/hard of hearing program, using both Cued
Speech and sign language.
“I am proud to be the first Cue kid, and to see it
accomplish so much for other deaf children/adults and their
families using Cued Speech. Had it not been for Dr. Cornett
and his ingenious creation, my mom and family, I would have
been a completely different person!”
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Leah
Henegar Lewis 