Finding a lipspeaker
Only Level 3 lipspeakers should be engaged to work in legal settings. There are very few Level 3 lipspeakers, so please allow 2-3 weeks to find one. A team of two Level 3 lipspeakers is usually needed for an appropriate communication service in Courts of Law.
A list of Level 3 lipspeakers can be found in the CACDP Directory and the Association of Lipspeakers Directory 2002. These publications are invaluable guides to finding, booking and using lipspeaker services. Booking agencies around the country can also be used to find a lipspeaker. Their details can also be found in the CACDP Directory.
Anyone who has difficulty finding appropriate lipspeaker support should contact the Association of Lipspeakers (ALS).
Booking a lipspeaker
Remember to book a lipspeaker as far in advance as possible. Please provide an emergency telephone number for the lipspeaker in case of delay.
To avoid disappointment or dissatisfaction, consult the CACDP Directory to find the appropriate level of lipspeaker for the assignment.
Lipspeakers need to know:
- Date, time, place and nature of the job
- Name of co-worker
- As much background information as possible (supporting papers and special jargon/acronyms sent beforehand aids preparation)
- Rates of pay with conditions of service fullly set out. Wherever possible, this should include details of rest breaks, meal times, lengths of sittings and cancellation fees
- Full details of invoicing arrangements.
The above information should be sent in writing following a telephone booking. The lipspeaker should also confirm acceptance of the assignment in writing. Fees may still be required if a booking is cancelled.
Using a lipspeaker
Lipspeaking requires the lipspeaker to listen to what is said and to repeat it accurately, without using their voice, while listening to the next sentence. However, a lipspeaker can provide a voiced transmission of the lipreader's message, if requested to do so.
To do this the lipspeaker has to hear clearly. Please speak up; soft voices and mumbles are unacceptable. If two people speak at once, neither message can be passed on.
The speaker needs to speak clearly and at a moderate pace. Before beginning, invite the lipreader to interrupt if the pace, volume or environment need adjustment.
The lipspeaker is a sentence behind the speaker and the lipreader is a sentence behind that. A pause between speakers is needed for the lipreader to catch up.
For a consultation, meeting or interview, the speaker should address the deaf person, not the lipspeaker.
The lipreader requires good light on the lipspeaker. No one can lipread facing the light.
Please remember that:
- a lipspeaker is completely neutral
- a lipspeaker does not ask questions on behalf of the lipreader
- a lipspeaker is trained to provide a voiced transmission of the lipreader's message, if requested
- a lipspeaker works to a professional Code of Practice
Appropriate situations for providing lipspeaker support
All Courts of Law; barrister's consultation; solicitor/client meetings; police stations/police inquiries and interviews; prison visits.
Lipspeaking and the lipreader
An appropriate lipspeaker service gives deaf people equal access to communication. The requirement for communication support is part of:
- The Disability Discrimination Act
- The Disabled Person's Act
- The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE)
- The NHS and Community Care Act
- The Children Act
Service providers are responsible for the cost of providing lipspeaker support for users of public sector services such as education, health, local authority and the legal system.
Useful contacts
Association of Lipspeakers
ALS Information Office
5 Furlong Close, Upper Tean, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire ST10 4LB
Tel: 01538 722482
Fax/Textphone: 01538 722442
E-mail: information@lipspeaking.co.uk
ALS Website: www.lipspeaking.co.uk
Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP)
Durham University Science Park, Block 4, Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3UZ
Tel: 0191 383 1155
Textphone: 0191 383 7915
Fax: 0191 383 7914
E-mail: durham@cacdp.co.uk
Website: www.cacdp.org.uk/
ONLY LEVEL 3 LIPSPEAKERS SHOULD BE ENGAGED TO WORK IN LEGAL SETTINGS.
Revised: October 2007
