Deafness, Hearing Loss and the Development of Mental State Reasoning Skills: A Review

Individuals with hearing loss have a diverse spectrum of auditory experiences, shaped by the degree of hearing loss and interventions. The study of social cognition in deaf children and more generally, children with hearing loss, contributes to a nuanced understanding of how learning experiences influence social and cognitive development. Research suggests that limited access to language may influence conceptual development in theory of mind or the development of information processing skills required in mental state reasoning. In this article, we briefly review decades of research on social-cognitive development of children with hearing loss acquired in infancy, discuss how access to language-mediated communication contributes to the emergence and expression of understanding other minds and highlight some implications for effective interventions.