Visual phonics: an English code buster?

Visual phonics is an instructional program to provide print awareness, alphabet knowledge, and sound-letter correspondence for children with hearing loss who experience difficulty developing a foundation of phonemic awareness skills. Its purpose is "to clarify the sound symbol relationship between spoken English and print" (Waddy-Smith & Wilson, 2003, p. 15). It is implemented in numerous school districts, particularly in California and Florida, and can be learned in a 2-day workshop. Administrators, teachers, and speech pathologists see potential benefit in using Visual Phonics to help students with hearing loss raise their achievement scores in reading and spelling. However, it is critical to note that Visual Phonics has virtually no research base. Researchers, teachers, and speech pathologists are called upon to collect their data and begin research on the effectiveness of Visual Phonics. This is a case in which the research-to-practice gap must be closed.