Do d/deaf and hard of hearing children need access to a spoken phonology to learn to read? A narrative meta-analysis

A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate phonology’s role in d/Deaf and hard of hearing (d/Dhh) children’s development of reading, and their ability to access spoken-language phonology. A systematic search of databases and journals identified 27 studies, 7 of which met the inclusion criteria. The included studies, experimental or quasi-experimental in nature, were conducted over a 20-year period (1995–2016) with students ages 3–18 years. Other literature was identified to enhance the discussion and support the interpretations. The review showed that spoken language’s phonology is one of the literacy skills d/Dhh students must possess in order to learn to read. Further, the study found that d/Dhh students can access phonology using techniques like Visual Phonics and Cued Speech. These findings support the qualitative similarity hypothesis, which states that phonology is important for reading development and that d/Dhh children have the ability to access it.