AHB, July 2018

In Camera: A Story Reader’s Story

Story reader, lipspeaker and author Dian Donovan chats to Stories for

Lipreading’s Annabel Hervey-Bathurst about life in front of - and away from -

the Stories for Lipreading camera.

Our story readers are, in many ways, the face of Stories for Lipreading. But,

despite their role in front of the camera, most of our readers never really gain

their fair share of the limelight. So here, for the first time, one of our most

popular and experienced story readers tells us what it’s like to read for Stories

for Lipreading, how she got involved - and gives us an insight into her

fascinating and inspiring ‘day job’.

Dian Donovan, who has spent the last 20 or so years supporting people with

hearing loss, spills the beans…

What do you do when you

are not reading for Stories

for Lipreading?

My official title is that I’m a

Language Service

Professional (LSP). That

means I support people with

hearing loss to access the

spoken language in several

different ways: as a

specialist note-taker and as

a lipspeaker, sometimes using additional signs (conveying spoken words in

British Sign Language).

What is a lipspeaker?

A lipspeaker repeats what a speaker has said, in a way that can be easier or

clearer for a person with hearing loss to lipread. We can repeat the words with

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or without using our voices, depending on what the client requires. For

example, it means that the person with hearing loss can just focus on me in a

meeting, rather than having to follow several different speakers, some of

whom may not be easy to lipread. We are trained to keep up with speech that

can sometimes reach 240 words per minute, but we always have to keep the

clarity of what is being said and we’re careful never to change the message.

That sounds as though you have to think very fast, if you are relaying all those

words to your client while the speaking is still going on around you?

Yes, we have to get used to split-second decision-making! It’s sometimes hard

to keep up with what everyone is saying, as we are right in the hub of it all.

When I’m note-taking, it’s a test of my ability to précis – but, again, I’m careful

not to change the overall message. Some people with hearing loss prefer to

have other speakers’ words on a screen in front of them, rather than

lipreading. I enjoy the challenge of making sure that the message I’m relaying

is always ‘on point’, both when I’m note-taking and when I’m lipspeaking.

What sort of people are your clients?

I work with a variety of people, from high-level professionals to children in

(mainly secondary) schools. I work in a whole range of settings, from business

meetings to medical appointments to law courts. For children and young

people, when I’m note-taking, I sit in their lessons or university lectures and

seminars – though I’m very careful to blend into the background! Students

don’t want to stand out!

I have to blend in when I’m in a business meeting as well – I make sure that I’m

presentable and that I would want me sitting next to me! The clients are

professionals and so are we; casual dress is not an option.

People often don’t know that these types of support exist. If I’m sitting there in

a hospital or a doctor’s waiting room with a client, I could look like their

daughter or mother.

Sometimes people experience a big loss of confidence when they have hearing

loss. They may have had jobs or careers and yet suddenly they can’t access

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what is going on in their own living rooms. LSP can help in a variety of

environments.

Is it very expensive to employ a lipspeaker or note-taker?

No - there is usually no cost at all to the client. The cost is borne by the

employer (if it’s a business meeting) or by the institution (such as the NHS or

law courts or local councils). Anyone who is registered as having hearing loss is

able to request this kind of help, so that they can access services and work

situations. It’s part of the disability and equality legislation in this country. If

you’d like information on how this can help with access to NHS services, you

can find more details at www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/patient/

For support in employment or interviews, there is the Access to Work scheme:

the details can be found at www.gov.uk/access-to-work

Is there anything that you’ve learned from your experience as an LSP which

you think it’s helpful to pass on to Stories for Lipreading users?

I think it’s really inspirational for people to realise that there are role models,

sometimes with a profound hearing loss, who have reached the top of their

professions. It’s important to understand that it’s OK to ask for support to

enable you to do the best job, so you can be on the same level playing field as

others.

Also, it’s really important for people with hearing loss to be confident enough

to say when things aren’t working for them. The hearing world is so fast-

moving and doesn’t really understand deafness.

Often the deaf person I am with has managed so well that it’s easy to forget

that they aren’t hearing. So I said to one of the students I was working with,

‘You need to be empowered so that you can empower us – tell us what you

need from us. If you own your hearing loss, you are setting things up for the

deaf person who comes after you.’

What first brought you into contact with the world of hearing loss?

My father had hearing loss as a child, which worsened in his 40s. I used to

watch him struggle and, as a child, I realised what it took to communicate with

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someone with hearing loss. He desperately wanted to hear, and he was so

frustrated.

Why/ how did you decide to make the world of hearing loss a focus of your

career?

When I was in my 30s and had had my first child, I watched a programme on

how deaf babies and toddlers learn through sign language. It just looked

fascinating so I signed up for a BSL course in my spare time and immediately

thought, ‘This is what I like doing!’

It all happened relatively quickly: within about 5 years I had gone from being a

branch manager of a bank to being a communication support worker in a

secondary school, supporting deaf children through sign language. The minute

I stepped into that school, I just loved education. I thought, ‘This is great’. It

was a baptism of fire, but it was great.

What does it take to be a good lipspeaker?

I think it really comes down to having good, clear lip-shapes. You have to get

the right balance between being animated, using gesture and facial

expressions, to keeping your head still, depending on the client’s needs and

preferences. But with Stories for Lipreading, it’s dictated by the story.

How did you come across Stories for Lipreading? Why did you offer to help?

I started going to a lipreading class as part of my continuing professional

development as an LSP. The tutor mentioned Stories for Lipreading to the

class; she’d helped to start the project. It allows people to get better at

lipreading from the comfort of their own homes. It’s a great aid, really, so I

offered to read for the films. Enabling people to find another way of

communicating is just such a good thing to do.

Can you tell us a bit about your experience of going to a lipreading class?

I really enjoyed the class so I carried on going! It can feel a bit like being a fraud

to be the only person with good hearing in the class – I wear my ear protectors

to make sure I’m not cheating! We have lots of fun. There is a great

atmosphere in the class.

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What does it take to be a good story reader?

That’s a really hard question. Enjoying the story, really. I do little bits of writing

myself, so I enjoy seeing a story put across the way the writer intended. I like

storytelling – I have an enjoyment of spoken language. I couldn’t read till I was

about 10 but I could always hear how things should sound.

You couldn’t read until you were 10?!

Yes, now they’d have checked it out and sorted it out long before then. I

couldn’t speak clearly until I was 5 - but not because of any health problem. I

think I was just away with the fairies! It was great for my creativity – I used to

have stories going on in my head all the time.

I was always bottom of the class but it never bothered me. But that was

actually quite good when I was working as an LSP in secondary schools – I got it

that some of the students didn’t get it first time.

Does being a writer yourself make a difference to the way you feel about

reading other writers’ stories?

I can understand why they really like seeing their work on Stories for

Lipreading. You have an idea which you turn into writing and someone else

comes along and endorses it: that’s a really good feeling.

I always try to get the reading the way the writer intended; it’s a relief if you

get feedback from the author that it was right, especially if it’s been a style of

dialogue that hasn’t come naturally to me. Then it’s more like acting, adopting

the personality of the character.

But I do know, because I’ve written some plays, that when you produce a work

to be performed, you just have to let it go. It’s not yours anymore. I want the

lipreader to appreciate the delivery even more than the writer; the writer has

already relinquished control.

Can you tell us a bit about what goes on at a Stories for Lipreading filming

session?

It’s really relaxed. It takes place in someone’s home and is all set up ready, so

when I get there, we just need to position me and adjust the lighting. The story

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is on an iPad autocue that I can control with the space bar, to adjust the timing

and speed. It’s all a very pleasant experience.

You always look very relaxed and excited about the story, in your story films.

Are you ever nervous before (or during) a recording?

No! I reserve that for my assignments in meetings and other situations! Stories

for Lipreading is very relaxed and we can normally get the filming done within

two takes. It’s much less stressful than my ‘day job’, where you can’t correct

errors at all.

Do you have a favourite type of story to read aloud?

I like the humorous ones – otherwise I end up frowning too much!

What type of books do you read for your own pleasure?

I don’t read much now: if I have spare time, I want to be writing. But generally,

for reading, I like horror, dark stuff. That’s probably what I would write as well.

I know that you have also written a book and some plays. Would you tell us a

bit about them?

My plays are mainly children’s things; they’re humorous and focused on

diversity. For instance, one is about a human boy who is beamed up to another

planet, because the aliens are studying diversity. The plays are available for

amateur dramatic groups to buy from the Lazy Bee website,

www.lazybeescripts.co.uk

I’ve also written a novelette which has a deaf child in it, ‘Cow and Me’.

(Available for purchase by emailing dian@docom.eu.) It’s illustrated by my

nephew, Max. It’s a quirky ramble about a deaf boy trying to survive after an

apocalypse, and his need to save another living being. I was inspired when I

was driving home one day, in the rain, looking at a horse in a field, and I

thought ‘When would we stop and save another, for no reason, no gain?’ That

book is really for the 13+ age group, as it has some heart-wrenching moments.

I like exploring the human condition.

Your professional life sounds very diverse, thanks to your many different

talents. Where do you see your career going from here?

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I want to carry on doing what I’m doing – lipspeaking and all my LSP work –

and do more of it! And hopefully I will have a book published. I’m writing one

at the moment, for adults and teenagers – it’s sci-fi, about playing around with

time.

Will Stories for Lipreading be part of your future plans? We all hope so!

Yes, I will definitely carry on with Stories for Lipreading! It’s such a good thing

to do!

Useful links.

To contact Dian regarding lipspeaking or any aspect of her work as a Language

Service Professional, email dian@docom.eu

The Association of Lipspeakers (ALS) is the professional body that represents

lipspeakers. They are also happy to provide information about the support

available for those with hearing loss. For more information, see our Useful

Links page or http://lipspeaking.co.uk/