Technology as a Means to Bridging the Literacy Gap between Children with Normal Hearing and Children with Severe to Profound Hearing Loss
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Date
2012
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Publisher
Ohio State University. Department of Speech and Hearing Science
Abstract
The language and reading development gap that exists between children with normal hearing and children with severe to profound hearing loss has been well documented and supported with past research (Ching et al., 2010). With the advent of the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening program, children with severe to profound hearing loss are diagnosed earlier, and more importantly, receive intervention for their hearing loss earlier (Marcoux & Hansen, 2003). Improvements in hearing aid technology and cochlear implants have the potential for providing children with severe to profound hearing loss an increased amount of auditory information vital for language and reading development. Although cochlear implants have helped to somewhat close the literacy gap between children with normal hearing and children with severe to profound hearing loss, a gap still presently exists. This paper provides an overview of language and reading development for children with severe to profound hearing loss, and aims to determine best practices regarding present technology for children with hearing loss.