Early phases of the literacy process in deaf children: constructive aspects of learning to write Spanish

A number of studies (Massone, Simon, Gutierrez 1999; Massone, Simon 2000, Baez, Massone 2007) indicate high rates of illiteracy and functional illiteracy among Argentinean deaf young people and deaf adults. This situation emphasizes the importance of research on the early phases of the literacy processes in deaf children. Following the psychogenetic perspective, (Ferreiro, Teberosky 1979), we are interested in comprehending possible similarities, details and singularities in these initial phases of reading and writing in deaf children. In this article we focus on initial writing of words and sentences produced by a deaf child and a deaf girl in an exploratory longitudinal study. At this initial stage, Argentinean Sign Language is fundamental as language of communication, interpretation and reflection on writting. Nevertheless, the relationship between written Spanish and Argentinean Sign Language is complex, as it is between speaking and writing. To limit the conceptualiation of our writing system to only one of its components oversimplifies the constructive processes that children develop in the acquisition of literacy. We wish to underline the active attitude, the knowledge and the linguistic competence of these children. We are interested in introducing this active subject, who is linguistically competent, in the current discussions about literacy in deaf children.