Perceptual Span

The area of text around a fixation point from which useful information can be extracted during reading. Research using eye-tracking has shown that skilled deaf readers have a larger perceptual span than hearing readers — up to 18 letter spaces compared to 14 for hearing readers — likely because deaf readers develop stronger orthographic-semantic connections to compensate for limited access to phonological coding. Understanding perceptual span differences is important for designing readable captions, subtitles, and text displays that accommodate the distinct reading strategies of DHH individuals.