Prelingual hearing disabilities and literacy skills

Nowadays, people who are deaf or have been hard of hearing since birth have significantly better educational opportunities than ever before. A reason for this is the increase in scientific, social and legal recognition of national sign languages, such as e.g., German Sign Language (DGS), which means that they are now increasingly being used in educational and therapeutic work. Other reasons are early diagnosis, modern hearing aids and the cochlear implant (CI), which provide deaf and hard-of-hearing people with the ability to hear and, to some extent, the ability to learn spoken language at an age-appropriate rate. Despite these improved conditions, however, their literacy skills may still be limited. This article illustrates connections between hearing disabilities, the use of language and literacy skills, outlines the characteristics of the literacy skills of people with a prelingual hearing disability and finally, presents several consequences for educational, therapeutic and social work.