Reading Ability in Signing Deaf Children

Abstract

This article reviews three types of claims proposing that knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL) facilitates reading development in deaf children. Arguments will be presented in support of a refinement of one such claim: That there is a relationship between ASL competence and reading. We argue that the relationship does not develop “naturally” but must be cultivated. There are conditions that enable associations to be made between ASL and reading including exposure to certain types of discourse settings that serve to highlight, signify, and direct attention to correspondences between different language systems.