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Abstract The lexical quality hypothesis proposes that the quality of phonological, orthographic, and semantic representations impacts reading comprehension. In Study 1, we evaluated the contributions of lexical quality to reading comprehension in 97 deaf and 98 hearing adults matched for reading ability. While phonological awareness was a strong predictor for hearing readers, for deaf readers, orthographic precision and semantic knowledge, not phonology, predicted reading comprehension (assessed by two different tests). For deaf readers, the architecture of the reading system adapts by shifting reliance from (coarse-grained) phonological representations to high-quality orthographic and semantic representations. In Study 2, we examined the contribution of American Sign Language (ASL) variables to reading comprehension in 83 deaf adults. Fingerspelling (FS) and ASL comprehension skills predicted reading comprehension. We suggest that FS might reinforce orthographic-to-semantic mappings and that sign language comprehension may serve as a linguistic basis for the development of skilled reading in deaf signers.
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Morphological awareness and reading skill for deaf and hearing adults
Abstract Both deaf and hearing readers use morphological awareness skills to decode and comprehend printed English. Deaf readers, for whom phonological awareness is a relative weakness while orthographic sensitivity is a strength, may have a different relationship with morphology than similarly skilled hearing readers. This study investigated the impact of various reading sub-skills—spelling, vocabulary size, morphological awareness, and phonological awareness—on reading comprehension for deaf and hearing adult readers. Morphological awareness had a stronger relationship with reading comprehension for deaf than hearing readers, particularly for deaf readers with advanced morphological skills. Morphology and vocabulary were also more strongly related for the deaf group, indicating that deaf readers leverage morphology to expand their word knowledge. Overall, the findings highlight the unique and significant role of morphological awareness in the skilled deaf reader’s “toolbox” and underscore the importance of morphological instruction in supporting the reading development of deaf individuals.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2120546
- PAR ID:
- 10610539
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education
- ISSN:
- 1081-4159
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Deaf individuals have unique sensory and linguistic experiences that influence how they read and become skilled readers. This review presents our current understanding of the neurocognitive underpinnings of reading skill in deaf adults. Key behavioural and neuroimaging studies are integrated to build a profile of skilled adult deaf readers and to examine how changes in visual attention and reduced access to auditory input and phonology shape how they read both words and sentences. Crucially, the behaviours, processes, and neural circuity of deaf readers are compared to those of hearing readers with similar reading ability to help identify alternative pathways to reading success. Overall, sensitivity to orthographic and semantic information is comparable for skilled deaf and hearing readers, but deaf readers rely less on phonology and show greater engagement of the right hemisphere in visual word processing. During sentence reading, deaf readers process visual word forms more efficiently and may have a greater reliance on and altered connectivity to semantic information compared to their hearing peers. These findings highlight the plasticity of the reading system and point to alternative pathways to reading success.more » « less
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