A Longitudinal Investigation of Code-Related Emergent Literacy Skills in Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing Across the Preschool Years.

Abstract

The purpose of this longitudinal investigation was to compare the developmental trajectories of code-related emergent literacy skills of children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) who use amplification and spoken language across the preschool years. Thirty children who are DHH and 31 children with typical hearing completed a language and emergent literacy assessment at 6-month intervals from age 4 through 6 years. Growth curve analysis was used to compare developmental trajectories between groups of the code-related skills of phonological awareness, phonological memory, phonological recoding, alphabet knowledge, and conceptual print knowledge. Growth across the preschool years was observed on all code-related emergent literacy skills across groups. Children who are DHH scored consistently lower than children with typical hearing on phonological awareness, phonological memory, and conceptual print knowledge; no group differences were observed for phonological recoding or alphabet knowledge. No interactions of time and group were significant. Children who are DHH exhibit consistent deficits in phonological awareness, phonological memory, and conceptual print knowledge across the preschool years and begin formal literacy instruction with a weaker foundation in emergent literacy skills. Future work should focus on optimizing emergent literacy interventions for children who are DHH during the preschool years. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21998153.