Why is it so hard for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to learn to read and write?
ANS: To the 10% of Deaf children who are born with Deaf parents or hearing parents who sign, learning to read and write is easy. These children grow up with language from the moment they are born. Unfortunately, 90% of deaf children are born into hearing parents who do not sign. They grow up without language. Parents spend so much time trying to teach their deaf child to speak that they ignore the most fundamental skill of all – reading and writing. Sadly, while the hot trend today is for hearing parents to teach their hearing babies sign language to help them develop language faster, hearing parents of deaf babies are told not to use sign language, that sign language will inhibit speech develop. So, while hearing babies learn sign language and develop language at an earlier age, deaf babies continue to lag further and further behind.
