title: Reading vocabulary in children with and without hearing loss: the roles of task and word type.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To address the problem of low reading comprehension scores among children with hearing impairment, it is necessary to have a better understanding of their reading vocabulary. In this study, the authors investigated whether task and word type differentiate the reading vocabulary knowledge of children with and without severe hearing loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-two children with hearing loss and 72 children with normal hearing performed a lexical and a use decision task. Both tasks contained the same 180 words divided over 7 clusters, each cluster containing words with a similar pattern of scores on 8 word properties (word class, frequency, morphological family size, length, age of acquisition, mode of acquisition, imageability, and familiarity).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Whereas the children with normal hearing scored better on the 2 tasks than the children with hearing loss, the size of the difference varied depending on the type of task and word.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Performance differences between the 2 groups increased as words and tasks became more complex. Despite delays, children with hearing loss showed a similar pattern of vocabulary acquisition as their peers with normal hearing. For the most precise assessment of reading vocabulary possible, a range of tasks and word types should be used.
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, theNetherlands. karien.coppens@gmail.com
authors.forename: Karien M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Coppens
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tellings
authors.forename: Ludo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Verhoeven
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schreuder
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D032882:Comprehension; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007807:Language Tests; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading; D014825:Vocabulary
keywords: hearing loss; reading vocabulary; task type; word type