Weston College is offering a beginner’s lip reading course open to anyone interested in this unique communication skill.

The 10-week certificated course starts on September 17, every Monday afternoon at the Knightstone Campus from 1.30pm to 3pm and costs £136.65.

College Specialist Support Instructor (Deaf/Hard of Hearing) Emm Sharpe said: “This is really exciting news for us and we hope it will encourage people to develop their communication skills.”

Lip reading has been around for hundreds of years as a vital aid for deaf and hard of hearing people, as well as a way for spies, courtiers, police and politicians to uncover secrets.

Latest statistics reveal that 10 million adults - one in six of the UK population has some form of hearing loss.
Of these 3.7 million are aged 16 to 64,with 40 per cent of over 50’s affected and 70 per cent of over 70’s; yet on average it takes a decade for people to address the problem.

More than 800,000 people are severely or profoundly deaf with around 20,000 children aged 0 to 15 moderately to profoundly deaf and 12,000 born deaf.

While lip reading is not an exact science those who learn can gather the gist of a conversation by picking up around 40 per cent of a conversation.

Difficulties include distinguishing between similar shaped words such as ‘pail’, ‘bail’ and ‘mail’.

There is still a shortage of lip reading courses available and Weston College aims to fill the gap.

The College already has a unique website section for deaf and hard-of-hearing students with a wealth of information about accessibility and support.

Emm added: “Our ‘open door’ policy, mentoring approach, in-class support and one-to-one specialist tutorials foster an environment of empowerment and student self-belief, enabling our students to achieve success beyond their expectations.”

For more information please call in to our reception or call 01934 411 411 or email enquiries@weston.ac.uk

Website: http://www.weston.ac.uk/student/student-zone/hearingsupport

For more details on courses at Weston College use the course search on the homepage of this website or call 01934 411 411.