Do deaf children use phonological syllables as reading units?

This study aimed at examining whether deaf children process written words on the basis of phonological units. In French, the syllable is a phonologically and orthographically well-defined unit. French deaf children and hearing children matched on word recognition level were asked to copy written words and pseudo-words. The number of glances at the item, copying duration, and the locus of the first segmentation (i.e., after the first glance) within the item were measured. The main question was whether the segments copied by the deaf children corresponded to syllables as defined by phonological and orthographic rules.The results showed that deaf children, like hearing children, used syllables…