Interactions of language and cognition in deaf learners: from research to practice

It is well established that deaf children begin school lagging in general language skills relative to hearing peers, and that deaf and hearing students differ with regard to literacy and other academic skills. These domains are typically treated separately, by different groups of researchers, with little consideration for common factors that might underlie them. It appears, however, that both of these situations might reflect differences in conceptual and content knowledge, as well as linguistic knowledge, between and among deaf and hearing learners. Such differences would clearly contribute to observed patterns of academic performance, and might have rather specific consequences for the development of language and literacy. A review of relevant research indicates interactions in concept-related language and cognitive processes among deaf learners, interactions that would be expected to influence language and literacy skills and potentially provide avenues for improvements in both.