Why do deaf children generally take longer to acquire reading comprehension skills?

The acquisition of reading comprehension skills in deaf children is notably influenced by their ability to make connections between graphemes and phonemes. Graphemes represent written letters or groups of letters that correspond to sounds in language, known as phonemes. Because deaf children may not naturally hear and practice these phonemic connections, they can face challenges in recognizing how written language relates to sounds, which is a foundational skill for reading.

This difficulty can hinder their ability to decode words and ultimately impacts their reading comprehension. Although writing skills, exposure to reading, and phonemic awareness are all relevant factors in literacy development, the specific challenge regarding their inability to connect graphemes to phonemes directly plays the most critical role in the delay they experience with reading comprehension skills.