Literacy in the homes of young deaf children: Common and distinct features of spoken language and sign bilingual environments

Abstract

The study of deaf children's early literacy raises fundamental issues about their access to language, experiences of early interaction and literacy development. However, we currently understand very little about how young deaf children develop literacy skills given their exceptional linguistic circumstances. This review explores early literacy practices in the homes of young deaf children to identify the commonalities and differences apparent in spoken language and sign bilingual homes. The introduction of the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme (NHSP), which is currently taking place, aims to diagnose congenital deafness in the first few weeks of life, followed by immediate involvement of a team of professionals with the child and family, including a teacher of the deaf. This provides a unique opportunity to explore early literacy practices in homes, and identify ways in which teachers and parents/carers can work collaboratively to facilitate deaf children's early literacy development.

Facilitating Literacy Development in Young Children with Hearing Loss

“…The exact role of PA in the reading performance of children with HL is unclear. Opinions differ on whether (1) individuals with HL use phonological avenues for processing written speech at all, 42 (2) individuals with HL tap into parallel orthographic strategies, 21 or 3phonological decoding occurs as a result of reading exposure rather than as a prerequisite for reading development. 43 However, correlation data reveal that the most proficient readers with HL demonstrate better phonological decoding ability.…”

Parents Sharing Books With Young Deaf Children in Spoken English and in BSL: The Common and Diverse Features of Different Language Settings

“…We had concluded that there was scope for a study that researched early literacy in homes where BSL was used as the main language for communication and the language of mediation for literacy events and a parallel study researching early literacy in homes where spoken language was used as the main language of communication with deaf children and for literacy events. We anticipated that the results of such a study would yield data that could be applied across the range of language and communication approaches used with young deaf children, as described in Swanwick and Watson (2005).…”

“…This view that literacy development in deaf children using spoken language is the same as that of hearing children can lead inevitably to comparisons with hearing children and attempts to address areas where deaf children are not achieving the same levels as hearing children. Swanwick and Watson (2005) suggested that the term ''literacy similar'' more accurately describes the process. This term, although anticipating that progress will follow a similar route to hearing children, allows for some differences and can enable a move away from a deficit model.…”

Promoting Early Literacy for Diverse Learners Using Audio and Video Technology

“…Storybooks remain inaccessible to them, except perhaps for the illustrations. Researchers note that seeing literacy as a multimodal practice for Deaf children may provide new avenues to promote traditional reading and writing skills (Swanwick & Watson, 2005). Table 2.…”