Teaching Phonological Skills to a Deaf First Grader: A Promising Strategy

The researchers analyzed the effectiveness of teaching phonological skills to a deaf child using the Direct Instruction curriculum titled Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Engelmann, Haddox, & Bruner, 1983). There are few studies that support the use of phonological interventions with students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The present study extends this research base. The study participant was a 7-year-old male first grader with moderate-to-severe mixed bilateral progressive hearing loss. A case study design was implemented for a period of 8 weeks. Detailed journal entries and tests of nonsense words were used to track participant progress. Results indicate that the participant’s phonological decoding skills improved. Implications for practitioners and future research are addressed.