Hemispheric Specialization and Implications for the Education of the Hearing Impaired

Evidence from several recent studies indicates that deaf individuals do not develop hemispheric specialization for verbal and nonverbal processing in the same manner as the normal hearing population (Kelly, 1978). These studies suggest that an early severe hearing impairment can influence the lateral organization of the brain for the interpretation of linguistic information. The intent of this article is to review pertinent research in order to provide a background for understanding the hemispheric findings, and to discuss some of the possible implications for instruction of deaf students.