How to Teach a Deaf Child to Read

There are different methods to teach deaf children to read.

There are various methods of teaching deaf children to read. Some methods might work more effectively than others, depending on the individual child. Parents play an important role in helping their hearing impaired children develop strong reading skills. Children who are deaf are just as intellectual as other children, but might need some extra help when learning to read.

Instructions

1. Use auditory-oral communication when teaching a deaf child to read. Sit face-to-face so the child can see your lips while reading. Your child might not be able to hear the words you are reading, but he can see the movements of your lips. The child also should be able to see reading material to help connect the words to your lip movements.

2. Teach a deaf child to read with interactive computer software. Interactive software helps a deaf child to visually absorb information. Insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive and follow the on-screen prompts. Each software has different lesson plans geared toward deaf children. The child will follow the lip movements of the animated characters while learning to read.

3. Consider using the Cued Speech method to teach a deaf child to read. With the Cued Speech method, children are taught to read using handshapes. The Cued Speech method is a sound-based hand supplement to speech-reading. The hands are shaped in four positions around the face, in eight different shapes to indicate the vowel sounds. The lips are moved while shaping the hands around your mouth to form the vowels. (See References 5)

References

• Deaf Children and Signing: Methods for Teaching Deaf Children to Read
• Raising Deaf Kids: Learning
• School Train: Teaching Deaf Children to Read
• Raising Deaf Kids: Learning to Read Using Oral Communication
• Personal PSU: Educational Approaches