Amy R. Lederberg

Language and Literacy Development of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children: Successes and Challenges.

Childhood hearing loss presents challenges to language development, especially spoken language. In this article, we review existing literature on deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) childrens patterns and trajectories of language as well as development of theory of mind and literacy. Individual trajectories vary significantly, reflecting access to early identification/intervention, advanced technologies (e.g., cochlear implants), and perceptually accessible language models. DHH children develop sign language in a similar manner as hearing children develop spoken language, provided they are in a language-rich environment. This occurs naturally for DHH children of deaf parents, who constitute 5% of the deaf population. For DHH children of hearing parents, sign language development depends on the age that they are exposed to a perceptually accessible 1st language as well as the richness of input. Most DHH children are born to hearing families who have spoken language as a goal, and such development is now feasible for many children. Some DHH children develop spoken language in bilingual (sign-spoken language) contexts. For the majority of DHH children, spoken language development occurs in either auditory-only contexts or with sign supports. Although developmental trajectories of DHH children with hearing parents have improved with early identification and appropriate interventions, the majority of children are still delayed compared with hearing children. These DHH children show particular weaknesses in the development of grammar. Language deficits and differences have cascading effects in language-related areas of development, such as theory of mind and literacy development.

Word-learning skills of deaf preschoolers : The development of novel mapping and rapid word-learning strategies

Word-learning skills of 19 deaf/hard-of-hearing preschoolers were assessed by observing their ability to learn new words in two contexts. The first context required the use of a novel mapping strategy (i.e., making the inference that a novel word refers to a novel object) to learn the new words. The second context assessed the ability to learn new words after minimal exposure when reference was explicitly established. The children displayed three levels of word-learning skills. Eleven children learned words in both contexts. Five were able to learn new words rapidly only when reference was explicitly established. Two children did not learn new words rapidly in either context. The latter seven children were followed longitudinally. All children eventually acquired the ability to learn new words in both contexts. The deaf childrens word-learning abilities were related to the size of their vocabularies. The present study suggests that word-learning strategies are acquired even when children are severely delayed in their language development and they learn language in an atypical environment.

A Structural Model of Algebra Achievement: Computational Fluency and Spatial Visualisation as Mediators of the Effect of Working Memory on Algebra Achievement.

The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate a structural model of the relations among cognitive abilities and arithmetic skills and college students’ algebra achievement. The model of algebra achievement was compared to a model of performance on the Scholastic Assessment in Mathematics (SAT‐M) to determine whether the pattern of relations is similar for different types of higher level maths achievement. Structural equation modelling was used to test the effects of working memory, 3D spatial ability, and computational fluency on both types of higher order maths achievement. Computational fluency had the strongest effect on algebra achievement, with 3D spatial ability and working memory showing moderate effects. In contrast, 3D spatial ability had a stronger effect on SAT‐M scores than did computational fluency. Computational fluency and 3D spatial ability completely mediated the effect of working memory for both algebra and SAT‐M achievement.

Grapheme-phoneme acquisition of deaf preschoolers.

We examined acquisition of grapheme-phoneme correspondences by 4 deaf and hard-of-hearing preschoolers using instruction from a curriculum designed specifically for this population supplemented by Visual Phonics. Learning was documented through a multiple baseline across content design as well as descriptive analyses. Preschoolers who used sign language and had average to low-average receptive vocabulary skills and varied speech perception skills acquired all correspondences after instruction. They were also able to use that knowledge while reading words. On a posttest, the children were able to decode graphemes into corresponding phonemes and identified about half of the words that were included during instruction. However, they did not identify any novel words. Descriptive analyses suggest that the children used Visual Phonics as an effective mnemonic device to recall correspondences and that deaf and hard-of-hearing preschoolers, even those with no speech perception abilities, benefited from explicit instruction in the grapheme-phoneme relationship using multimodality support.

Joint attention in deaf and hearing 22 month-old children and their hearing mothers

Attention regulation among people, objects, and symbols was investigated in 48 toddlers at 20-24 months (M = 22 months); 24 hearing child/hearing mother dyads and 24 deaf child/ hearing mother dyads. Hearing loss was prelingual and in the severe to profound range for all deaf children. Deaf children spent significantly less time in episodes of joint attention and significantly more time alone with objects than did hearing children. Analyses of time spent in different kinds of joint attention revealed two differences: deaf children spent virtually no time in symbol-infused joint attention while their hearing peers spent nearly one third of their time in this attention state; deaf children spent significantly more time in coordinated joint attention than did their hearing peers. The results suggested that time spent in joint attention increases during the second year even if children do not infuse symbols into their interactions with others.

Word-Learning Abilities in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Preschoolers: Effect of Lexicon Size and Language Modality

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) childrens ability to rapidly learn novel words through direct reference and through novel mapping (i.e., inferring that a novel word refers to a novel object) was examined. Ninety-eight DHH children, ranging from 27 to 82 months old, drawn from 12 schools in five states participated. In two tasks that differed in how reference was established, word-learning abilities were measured by childrens ability to learn novel words after only three exposures. Three levels of word-learning abilities were identified. Twelve children did not rapidly learn novel words. Thirty-six children learned novel words rapidly but only in the direct reference task. Forty-nine children learned novel words rapidly in both direct reference and novel mapping tasks. These levels of word-learning abilities were evident in children who were in oral-only and in signing environments, in children with cochlear implants, and in deaf children of deaf parents. Childrens word-learning abilities were more strongly correlated to lexicon size than age, and this relation was similar for children in these different language-learning environments. Acquisition of these word-learning abilities seems based on linguistic mechanisms that are available to children in a wide range of linguistic environments. In addition, the word-learning tasks offer a promising dynamic assessment tool.

Phonological Awareness: Explicit Instruction for Young Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children.

The goal of this study was to explore the development of spoken phonological awareness for deaf and hard-of-hearing children (DHH) with functional hearing (i.e., the ability to access spoken language through hearing). Teachers explicitly taught five preschoolers the phonological awareness skills of syllable segmentation, initial phoneme isolation, and rhyme discrimination in the context of a multifaceted emergent literacy intervention. Instruction occurred in settings where teachers used simultaneous communication or spoken language only. A multiple-baseline across skills design documented a functional relation between instruction and skill acquisition for those children who did not have the skills at baseline with one exception; one child did not meet criteria for syllable segmentation. These results were confirmed by changes on phonological awareness tests that were administered at the beginning and end of the school year. We found that DHH children who varied in primary communication mode, chronological age, and language ability all benefited from explicit instruction in phonological awareness.

Foundations for Literacy: An Early Literacy Intervention for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

The present study evaluated the efficacy of a new preschool early literacy intervention created specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children with functional hearing. Teachers implemented Foundations for Literacy with 25 DHH children in 2 schools (intervention group). One school used only spoken language, and the other used sign with and without spoken language. A “business as usual” comparison group included 33 DHH children who were matched on key characteristics with the intervention children but attended schools that did not implement Foundations for Literacy. Children’s hearing losses ranged from moderate to profound. Approximately half of the children had cochlear implants. All children had sufficient speech perception skills to identify referents of spoken words from closed sets of items. Teachers taught small groups of intervention children an hour a day, 4 days a week for the school year. From fall to spring, intervention children made significantly greater gains on tests of phonological awareness, letter–sound knowledge, and expressive vocabulary than did comparison children. In addition, intervention children showed significant increases in standard scores (based on hearing norms) on phonological awareness and vocabulary tests. This quasi-experimental study suggests that the intervention shows promise for improving early literacy skills of DHH children with functional hearing.

Contributions of the emergent literacy environment to literacy outcomes for young children who are deaf.

Specific characteristics of early literacy environments support hearing children’s emergent literacy. The researchers investigated these characteristics’ role in emergent literacy in young deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children, using the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO; M. W. ). Eighteen self-contained classrooms of preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade DHH children (N = 40) were studied. Hierarchical linear analysis was used to examine study participants’ classroom environment and growth in emergent literacy skills. Correlations suggested that classroom environment was more closely related to vocabulary and phonological awareness in DHH children than in typically hearing children. Major differences among classrooms were also indicated. However, growth in children’s skills did not correlate strongly with attributes captured by the ELLCO. This suggests that classrooms promoting emergent literacy skills acquisition in DHH children may differ from classrooms of typically developing hearing children.

Evaluating the Structure of Early English Literacy Skills in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

Better understanding the mechanisms underlying developing literacy has promoted the development of more effective reading interventions for typically developing children. Such knowledge may facilitate effective instruction of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. Hence, the current study examined the multivariate associations among phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge, word reading, and vocabulary skills in DHH children who have auditory access to speech. One hundred and sixty-seven DHH children (M age = 60.43 months) were assessed with a battery of early literacy measures. Forty-six percent used at least 1 cochlear implant; 54% were fitted with hearing aids. About a fourth of the sample was acquiring both spoken English and sign. Scores on standardized tests of phonological awareness and vocabulary averaged at least 1 standard deviation (SD) below the mean of the hearing norming sample. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that DHH childrens early literacy skills were best characterized by a complex 3-factor model in which phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge, and vocabulary formed 3 separate, but highly correlated constructs, with letter-sound knowledge and word reading skills relating to both phonological awareness and alphabetic knowledge. This supports the hypothesis that early reading of DHH children with functional hearing is qualitatively similar to that of hearing children.