Testimonials.
How some members have benefited through attending a Hard of Hearing Lipreading & Communication Support Group and what they have said.
Lipreading gave me back my life.
I have benefited by knowing or finding out that there are people who are handicapped like myself and are trying to do something about it, and also helping each other.
I have benefited by meeting other people who have hearing difficulties and learning to lipread and also some signing; it gives you plenty of encouragment and confidence.
It has made me try to observe other people's mouth movements.
I have benefited by meeting other hard of hearing people and realising I am not alone.
It has been nice to meet such friendly people and an understanding teacher.
Here is a short true story about a lady in my group.
A deaf person hears.
B.T came in to give a talk to the group about the different kinds of phones that are available, Mike also brought some phones in, that the group could try.
The talk went very well and two of the group stayed behind at the end.
Suzy who is very deaf has come to live here from London and she is finding the different accent very difficult at the moment, but she is coping very well with the different dialect within the group. Suzy was speaking to Mike about the phones, he gave her a phone, told her to turn around then spoke to her.
The look of surprise and delight on her face was one I will never forget.
‘Oh I can hear you’ Suzy said and turned around with a big beaming smile on her face.
She was then asked to sit down and lay the phone upside down on the table approximately 2-3 feet away from her.
Mike made the phone ring.
The look of astonishment on her face when she realised she was hearing the phone ring is another picture that will stay in my mind forever. She looked at the phone with eyes and mouth wide open, then looked to us, then back to the phone, this time pointing to it, then back at us, as if to say is that the phone I heard, I nodded.
‘I can hear it, I can hear it; I never thought I would ever hear on the phone again, now I can speak to my mother on the phone again. I have not spoken to my mother on the phone for over eight years’ She said.
Her mother lives in London,
With tears in her eyes she then broke down crying, as did we all, who were still in the room with her.
Needless to say, she went straight to a well known shop and purchased the phone.
All I can say is, is working with this group who are all hard of hearing to some degree makes all my efforts worth while.
Happy talking on the phone Suzy; may you have many happy years talking to friends and family.
If you would like to know more about anything you may have seen or read on my website, you can phone
Diane 0161-798-7943
Or if you prefer, you can email me on
r, you can leave a message or comment on the comments page, all feedback welcome and will be answered.
Diane Taylor ©
