Literacy Outcomes of Deaf Students With Cochlear Implants: Building the Evidence Base

• In Event: 28.085 - English Language Arts and Literacy in Special Education: Strategies and Struggles

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the literacy outcomes of a Canadian cohort of school-aged deaf learners (N = 73) who use cochlear implants. Specifically, the goal was to establish whether their achievement approached that of their hearing age peers and to identify demographic factors influencing performance (i.e., age of implantation, number of implants, grade level). As growing numbers of deaf children are receiving cochlear implants, often bilaterally and before the age of 12 months, studies of literacy development in this group are essential to establish the evidence base necessary for informing educational policy and pedagogical practice—and to ensure that this unique technology is providing the enhanced opportunities for literacy learning that have been predicted.

Authors

• Connie C. Mayer, York University

• Pam Millett, York University

• Beverly J. Trezek, DePaul University

• Gregory R. Hancock, University of Maryland