This chapter reviews recent studies looking at the impact of cochlear implants on the development of reading and writing of deaf children. Although there is good evidence that cochlear implants have significantly improved the spoken language of many children with severe to profound hearing loss, their impact on literacy—something that deaf children have traditionally found challenging—has proved to be considerably less consistent. In particular, benefits that are evident in the early years of education are often reduced as children progress through school. The aim of the chapter is to identify factors that affect the impact of cochlear implants at different stages of learning to read and write by considering both the skills that underpin early and later literacy for deaf children and factors affecting the efficacy of cochlear implants. The chapter concludes with a consideration of how the literacy development of deaf children with cochlear implants can best be supported through the use of interventions that enable the development of robust phonological coding.
Harris, Margaret
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences\Department of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health
Year of publication: 2016Date of RADAR deposit: 2017-03-09