A Case for the Semantic Processing of the Deaf Reader

Controversy over the primacy of the syntactic or the semantic cuing system in the reading of the deaf has led to differing instructional practices. This article raises the following questions: Can print be processed by deaf individuals without being mediated through syntax? Can semantics guide the processing of syntax? A case study of one proficient deaf student reading two versions of the same story, one syntactically more complex than the other, provides support for the notion that a firm semantic base enables processing at the syntactic as well as at the semantic level. Additional findings from this study and other studies are presented to support the notion of the importance of semantic processing in the reading of the deaf.