Principles and practices of literacy development for deaf learners: a historical overview

Since the very beginning of formal approaches to deaf education, the development of literacy has been a priority issue. The history of educational initiatives in this area is entwined with the history of prevailing attitudes and practices toward the impact of deafness on the development of deaf children more generally. In particular, arguments about whether a visual input (reading) can take the place of a diminished auditory input and whether educators should accommodate or seek to ameliorate the effects of the special linguistic characteristics of deaf learner-readers have resulted in a wide variety of practices and perspectives. These varied practices and perspectives continue to have impacts on current educational debate and practice. This article provides a brief historical overview of these educational endeavors, noting the enduring questions and issues that remain for the field to address.