NCVITAL: Hearing Impairment: Characteristics

Students who are Deaf or hard of hearing may have one or more of the following characteristics:

be skilled lipreaders, but many are not; only 30-40 percent of spoken English is distinguishable on the mouth and lips under the best conditions
also have difficulties with speech, reading and writing skills, given the close relationship between language development and hearing
use speech, lipreading, hearing aids and/or amplification systems to enhance oral communication
be members of a distinct linguistic and cultural group; as a cultural group, they may have their own values, social norms and traditions
use American Sign Language as their first language, with English as their second language