It is crucial to discuss the long-lasting effects of childhood hearing loss. After all, children with hearing issues usually show significant developmental delays. This article will take a quick look at reading ability among hearing-damaged children.
The Effects of Childhood Hearing Loss on Reading Abilities
Studies show that children with hearing problems have more trouble reading. This is especially true for children with the complete hearing loss.
So what causes this issue?
First, children with hearing problems have poor word comprehension. This is connected with communication issues that started in early childhood.
Since these children don’t understand individual words, sentences become a huge challenge. Furthermore, they tend to have problems with abstraction.
It is also worth noting that deaf children have a shorter attention span than their peers. This can also be true of children with partial hearing damage.
General knowledge is another important matter.
In order to understand any text, children need to have an idea of how the world works. In other words, they need to know basic facts about nature and society. But this tends to be missing in the case of children with hearing damage.
But What Can We Do About It?
Reading difficulties are definitely among the effects of childhood hearing loss.
Teachers and counselors need to know about this. Their expertise has a key role in helping children make up for developmental delays. But the involvement of parents is even more important.
So what is the most important part of parenting children with hearing difficulties? Communicate with them as much as possible. Sign language is an important part of this. In less severe cases, hearing aids can be helpful as well.
