Early Literacy Development in Deaf Children

<p>There is a robust body of knowledge suggesting that early language and literacy experiences significantly impact on future academic achievement. In contrast relatively little has been written with respect to the early literacy development and experiences of deaf children.</p><p>In <em>Early Literacy Development in Deaf Children</em> Connie Mayer and Beverly J. Trezek seek to fill this gap by providing an in-depth exploration of how young deaf children learn to read and write identifying the foundational knowledge abilities and skills that are fundamental to this process. They provide an overview of the latest research and present a model of early literacy development to guide their discussion on topics such as teaching reading and writing curriculum and interventions bilingualism and assessment. Throughout they concentrate on the ways in which young learners with hearing loss are similar to or different from their hearing age peers and the consequent implications for research and practice. Their discussion is wide-reaching as they focus on children from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds those with additional disabilities and hearing losses ranging from mild to profound and those using a range of communication modalities and amplification technologies including cochlear implants.</p><p>With the implementation of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and advancements in hearing technologies that have heightened both the emphasis on literacy development in the early years and the importance of these years in the ultimate development of age-appropriate reading and reading outcomes this timely text addresses a topic that has thus far eluded the field.</p>