Phonology matters: a comprehensive investigation of reading and spelling skills of school-age children with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss.

The investigators measured 7 literacy skills in a group of 21 school-age children with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss (MSNH group), and compared the scores to those of 2 age-matched groups: children with dyslexia (DYS group) and, as a control, typically developing hearing children (CA group). The MSNH group performed consistently below the CA group but better than the DYS group, an indication that differences in the groups' phonological processing profiles might be an important discriminating feature. Interestingly, the MSNH group showed a selective impairment in word reading accuracy only, whereas their reading rate was relatively unaffected. Children with MSNH who show weak phonological awareness skills seem to compensate by relying on orthographic recognition associated with rapid naming ability. To determine which children with MSNH are at high risk for depressed reading achievement, testing across a widerange of literacy skills should be considered.