Early Literacy of Kindergartners With Hearing Impairment

Abstract

The study assessed the value of maternal writing mediation in predicting children's early literacy. Thirty kindergartners with hearing impairment (HI) and their mothers participated. Mothers were videotaped at home while helping their children write words, and the children's early literacy was assessed in the kindergarten. Maternal writing mediation was analyzed in terms of its cognitive and emotional aspects. Results show that beyond the child's age and his or her degree of hearing loss, the cognitive aspects of maternal writing mediation predicted word writing (11%), word recognition (34%), and letter knowledge (35%). Beyond the background measures, the emotional aspects of the mediation predicted word recognition (12%), letter knowledge (14%), and general knowledge (9%). Discussion focuses on writing interactions as a context of early literacy development among kindergartners with HI.