Complex word reading in Dutch deaf children and adults

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Developmental Psychology
• Education

Background:

• Children who are deaf often experience delays in reading comprehension.
• Morphological processing deficits may contribute to reading difficulties in deaf children.
• Understanding word structure is crucial for effective reading.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate reading differences in complex words between deaf and hearing children and adults.
• To compare the processing of derivational words and compounds versus monomorphemic words.
• To identify potential interventions for improving reading skills in deaf children.

Main Methods:

• A lexical decision task was administered to 6th-grade deaf and hearing children and adults.
• Participants read monomorphemic words, derivational words, and compounds.
• Reaction times and accuracy scores were recorded to assess word reading abilities.

Main Results:

• Deaf children demonstrated delays in reading both derivational words and compounds compared to hearing children.
• Deaf and hearing adults performed similarly on the lexical decision task, though deaf adults had slower reaction times.
• Both groups found derivational words more challenging than compounds, with deaf children showing lower accuracy.

Conclusions:

• Deaf children's reading difficulties may stem from unfamiliarity with bound morphemes in derivational words.
• Explicit instruction in morphology and its application to word reading is recommended for deaf children.
• Assessment of word reading ability in deaf children should include both monomorphemic and polymorphemic words.