A mystery is unraveled by reading lips for a London TV series by the director of the Lip Reading Academy in Chattanooga, TN. The Lip Reading Academy is the only institution of its kind in the U.S. A film company from London,
England called to ask for help in interpreting a  mystery in one of their productions. The series is a “docu-drama” based on
scientific facts.

They will be in the states for six weeks and needed help in lip reading a  mystery man in a surveillance video. Some of the filming was done here in Chattanooga.  I met with the producer to view the video clip and was asked to give some understanding what the person might be saying.
 
In the movie I will be interviewed by a  detective, who is a forensic pathologist to interpret my findings and make some  explanatory  comments on it. What clues do I see that might help them?  The  equipment was set up in a library where I would be  interviewed by the detective  and to share my  findings.
 
The video clip is only 15 seconds long. My  impressions:
  1. The man’s hat covered his eyes

  2. He showed very little facial expressions

  3. There is a slight tilting of the head

  4. There is one hand gesture

  5. He pinched his lip for emphasis

 

We narrowed down that the key to the  clip was  three words. I had to explain what those words might be.
Without  knowing the topic or hearing the voice it would be difficult to  determine the exact meaning. I had to explain what each movement of the lips might
mean step by step.
Some speech sounds are very difficult to see nder the best conditions. Many of these movements occur inside the mouth and cannot easily be seen. Research has shown that vision provides approximately one-fifth the information that is available through hearing.
 60% of all speech sounds are invisible or
difficult to see. Therefore you cannot rely only what the eye can see because the eye cannot see enough for clear understanding.
Homophenous words that look alike are
responsible for breakdowns in understanding and may sometimes cause embarrassment. 
 
All consonants involve movements of the lips,
tongue, and jaw, but the way these organs move varies from sound to sound.
As letters are important to the written word so each movement of the mouth is critical to the lipreader for greater understanding. Lipreading is a skill involving interpretation of the speaker’s thoughts and message. It requires the ability to see speech movements rapidly and fill in what was not clearly seen.
Lipreading is an important part of
rehabilitation process because all hearing-impaired people use this skill to some extent. This is the type of training we give at the Lip Reading Academy.

With all the problems involved in lipreading, it may seem an impossible task. The situation, however, is not as bad as it seems. Some of the problems can be minimized by situational modification or use of communication strategies.
Because of its limitations, lipreading cannot be considered a substitute for hearing but is a valuable supplement to it.

The Lip Reading Academy is offering classes on
"aural rehabilitation" and coping skills necessary for good
communication.
Until the Trumpet sounds, LET MY PEOPLE HEAR!

 David M. Harrison
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