In Brief:
A battery of reading, writing, and phonological processing tests was completed by 112 high school students who received a cochlear implant in preschool. Reading scores were comparable with hearing age-mates for at least half of the sample, but fewer students achieved age-appropriate levels in writing, spelling, and phonological processing. Comparison of high school reading scores with those obtained from the same subjects in elementary grades indicated that they maintained consistent standing in relation to hearing norms. Phonological processing skills were a critical predictor of literacy after child, family, and implant characteristics were controlled.
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