Schooling Effects on Early Literacy Skills of Young Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children.

Already well documented for hearing children, schooling's effects on early literacy skills for young students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) were examined for the first time in the present study. Piecewise growth curve modeling was used to describe 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old students' growth in phonological awareness, letter-word identification, and vocabulary during 2 years of schooling and the intervening summer (N = 56). Amplification mode was cochlear implants for 45% of the sample and hearing aids for 54%.