Reading strategies for the profoundly deaf Libras users: Benefits of speech and lip reading for strengthening linguistic skills

Abstract

To understand the reading strategies used by deaf students, two groups of profoundly deaf individuals were tested: Group 1: users of the Brazilian Sign Language and Group 2: users of the Brazilian Sign Language and speech and/or lip reading. A reading test was used to assess the degree of development of logographic, alphabetic and orthographic strategies. The group of deaf students who used alternative means of communication (Group 2) showed improved performance in all psycholinguistic categories of the test in comparison to Group 1. It was observed that the use of phonology is not directly associated with good reading skills in the profoundly deaf. On the other hand, word recognition by these readers occurs via the utilization of the orthographic strategy, which proved to be efficient.

Effect of spectral overlays on visual parameters and reading ability: an integrative review

“…The authors 22 reinforce that deaf children are twice disadvantaged in reading, as they present reduced visual and phonological skills. Since profound deaf people do not have phonological access when they read 23 , they are more dependent on the visual components of the characters' graphical patterns; moreover, reading difficulty can result in part from a perception or visual processing deficit.…”