A hearing loss is defined by the degree of loss, the type of loss, and the age at which the loss occurred. The impact of hearing loss also depends on these three factors.  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act defines deafness as a hearing impairment that is severe enough that the child cannot process linguistic information through hearing, even when using amplification or hearing aids. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing are a heterogeneous group with different strengths, interests, and needs; what they share is difficulty hearing.  

Children who are deaf or hard of hearing have the capacity for normal intelligence, and some may be intellectually gifted. However, because they cannot hear as well as children with normal hearing, they may experience developmental delays. Reading levels of children who are deaf or hard of hearing tend to be substantially lower than those of their hearing peers. They will develop the language of their home. For the child who is deaf, it will be the language taught in the home or another sign system. One difficulty is that 90 percent of children who are deaf or hard of hearing are born into homes with hearing parents who do not recognize the child’s early attempts at a manual communication system, so these attempts are not reinforced, and the child’s language development is delayed. Lack of verbal language makes it difficult for children who are deaf to make friends with children who speak and do not sign.