Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeB1972
Why would this child be less likely to be able to read than one raised in a speaking household?
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Deaf children have to acquire English as a second language. This can be very difficult for several reasons, chief among them the fact that the sounds, phonemes, rhythm etc can be inaccessible to them. It's very difficult to acquire a language you can neither hear nor speak.
For language to be properly and readily acquired to mastery, a native language should be acquired as early as possible, and for Deaf children this is their signed language. English can then be acquired, albeit with some or a lot of difficulty. For children not exposed to any language they have access to early on, it can be very difficult to acquire language properly at all. I've known a number of Deaf adults with very poor written English skills.