Sometimes called lip reading, but read on!
What is Speechreading and how can you learn to do it better?
The Speechreading course promotes skill development and attitudinal change towards communicating with a hearing loss. Participants, including individuals who have hearing loss and their partners, reflect on how hearing loss affects communication. The course allows the students the opportunity to create more effective personal communication, to identify and select communication strategies and tools, to increase self-confidence levels, and to become more effective at self-advocacy. Students also practice speechreading: they detect differences in mouth movements, discriminate and identify visual aspects of speech, and incorporate visual information with what they hear with the goal of improving personal communication.
Learn
- Advantages and limitations of speechreading
- How to combine what you see with what you hear
- How to identify the factors that affect your ability to communicate
- How to use a variety of strategies to communicate more effectively
- How to behave assertively in difficult situations
- Tips for stress reduction and relaxation
This is a Vancouver Community College course taught by Lisa Dillon Edgett. In the past Lisa taught this course at the West Vancouver Seniors Activity Centre and at the Silver Harbour Senior Centre. It was very popular and there were plans to increase the number of classes. This course switched successfully to an on-line version in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is now called Living Successfully with Hearing Loss and will continue on-line. The format of the course has changed. The majority of the course content will be shared on a course website in weekly installments and/or emailed PDF and a weekly Zoom meeting is scheduled to discuss, review, and practice the information. These meetings usually last about 60 to 90 minutes. The course runs for 12 weeks. The classes have a maximum size of 8 so early registration is important.
Spring courses are now scheduled with VCC is offering two on-line Level 1 and two on-line Level 2 courses. These courses focus on effective communication and address the knowledge, skills, and strategies that help to manage hearing loss and its challenges. Read the testimonials below for feedback from students. A common refrain from students is “I wish I hadn’t waited so long to do this.” And for the first time, VCC is offering two on-line Level 3 courses. This course expands the knowledge, skills, and abilities developed through Levels 1 and 2 and provides the opportunity for students to apply these skills in their lives with support, guidance, and feedback. The students move from generalized situations to real challenges and responsibilities of living in the hearing world. This course emphasizes real-life experiences both in and out of the classroom, incorporating higher-level communication, larger groups, and noisy environments. The students will evaluate their relationship with technology and, ultimately, assess their self-efficacy related to living successfully with hearing loss.
2025 Spring courses schedule: Registration is now open for these courses.
Level 1 (2 options) Zoom sessions
- Tuesday afternoons, 1 pm (PT)
Dates: April 1 to June 17 - Tuesday evenings, 7 pm (PT)
Dates: April 1 to June 17
You can also learn more about the Level 1 course here: https://www.vcc.ca/courses/dhhe-0618/
Level 2 (2 options) Zoom sessions
- Wednesday afternoons, 1 pm (PT)
Dates: April 2 to June 18 - Wednesday evenings, 7 pm (PT)
Dates: April 2 to June 18
You can also learn more about the Level 2 course here: https://www.vcc.ca/courses/dhhe-0619/
Level 3 (2 options) Zoom sessions
- Thursday afternoons, 1 pm (PT)
Dates: April 3 to June 19 - Thursday evenings, 7 pm (PT)
Dates: April 3 to June 19
We know how important it is for our brain health as we age to maintain social connections; the lessons in LSWHL help provide a pathway to this vital connection to others.
The current cost of the course (tuition and applicable college fees) is around $301. Financial help may be available.
Please contact Lisa Dillon Edgett to learn more, ask questions, or register for an up-coming term. Courses begin in January, April, and September.
Lisa Dillon Edgett, Ph.D., RAUD, Aud(C)
604-871-7348 or ldillonedgett@vcc.ca
If you know anyone who would benefit from the course, please share this information.
Please post the following flyer:
What do past students from the Living Successfully with Hearing Loss course say?
“This is a great course, and I would recommend it to anyone who has been diagnosed with hearing loss. It’s especially beneficial to take the class alongside loved ones or members of your support network. The shared experience fosters understanding, strengthens relationships, and equips everyone involved with valuable tools to navigate the challenges of hearing loss together.”
“The most important thing I learned in this class is how essential empathy and effective communication are in overcoming challenges related to hearing loss. This understanding helps to foster stronger connections, reduce misunderstandings, and create a more supportive environment for myself and those I interact with.”
“I’ve mostly avoided having to ask someone repeat 3+ times because my questions about what I didn’t hear are more specific. Thus, people (including both my boyfriend and I!) are less frustrated.”
“I became more assertive to talk about the better ways of communication with my co-workers and family members. I will tell people if I don’t hear part of the conversation instead of nodding to pretend.”
“I think the most important thing I have learned in this class is to advocate for myself. I am now more open and assertive about my hearing loss.”
“Another aspect of the class I found extremely helpful was the camaraderie that came from sharing challenges and feelings with others who were going through similar experiences. It was reassuring to connect with people who truly understood what I was going through, making me feel less alone.
“I have learned to have a more positive attitude in helping myself and in communicating to others what works best for me. It is important because it will keep me better connected with family and friends.”
“I have more knowledge about my hearing loss to explain to family/friends/co-workers/general public what I need/what helps in communication. I use this knowledge daily!”
“The most important thing I learned was “to advocate for myself and assessing environments and changing circumstances to hear better”.
“I really enjoyed our group. It was nice to be with people who have hearing problems like me as they understand the problem.”
“I have put in use the strategies and knowledge that I have gained in this course. My family and I are less stressed and have more meaningful conversations.”
“This is an essential course for anyone with hearing loss.”
“It helps everyone involved with me and fills me up to live less isolated, therefore could give so much more back to this world”.
“A wonderful class- clear and effective instructor; caring and sharing classmates, and a safe and open environment to talk about our hearing loss.”
“I find this class is helpful to how I deal with my hearing loss in effective ways. Also I realize a lot of people have the same problem as I have. I am not alone.”
“Knowing and understanding hearing loss and its impact on my daily life. It is important because when I understand it better I can find better solutions for difficulties.”
“I wish I had known about it a long time ago, as I could have benefitted greatly.”
“It was much more than I expected as the course includes social, physical, environmental approaches rather than just lip-reading techniques.”
“Assertiveness helps move emotions aside. I’ve had ongoing unrealistic expectations of how I “should” hear. This caused much disappointment, heart-ache, and even lower self-esteem. The class helped me to move into yet another stage of acceptance.”
“I’m lipreading a bit better. I’m helping people assist me MUCH better. It hadn’t occurred to me what it would be like being in a class with other hard of hearing folks. The communal impact was huge for me. I didn’t expect to be so well supported and accepted.”
“…I have become more aware of my attitudes towards others. I don’t hesitate to let them know what works best for me as well as compliment them on any changes they have made to help me. For some, I need to take more time to explain how severe the loss is because they really don’t know.”
“The class provided much more than I anticipated and proved to be so much more than reading lips. Very highly recommended!!”
For additional testimonials, please look at the following documents: LSWHL testimonials 2021 LSWHL testimonials 2023 Testimonials LSWHL 2024