My opinion - people, espeically us Hoh/Deaf people can never be "too good" at Reading and Writing - there's always room to improve, get better, become more comfortable and skilled with reading and writing skills!
I'd recommend to
everyone that they always take any extra classes/help to help improve reading and writing skills !!
Another thing that really helps - which I know a lot of people don't use, but
should is making use of the spell checker in their web browser (IE, Firefox, Safari on computers - also RIM/Blackberry and most phones now have a spell check !)
I use and prefer Firefox (because it's the move versatile and less prone to viruses) and all you have to do to add dictionaries with spell check (you can add more than one) to your Firefox browser is go:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/language-tools/ and then select the dictionary/language pack you want and install it according to the instructions. I'm sure the IE (Internet Explorer) and the other browsers have the same.
The advantage to having a dictionary that spell checks for you is that you'll KNOW when you're making spelling mistakes (it underlines the mis-spelled words in red) and then can select the correct spelling (right click and it displays words that it's likely you meant to spell). If there's an abbreviation etc (Hoh, HA, CI etc), you can add it to the dictionary - just be careful not to add mis-spelled words or it defeats the point of having the dictionary!
Using dictionaries/spell checkers whenever you write an email, write/post something online (ie using the Firefox dictionary/spell check) etc - there is even spell checks available for many IM programs!! - they can really help you learn what words you frequently mis-spell and help you learn to correct them. Also, consider making a list of "trouble words" and give it to your TOD or English teacher, they should be able to suggest some memory hints for spelling the words correctly .... one example is:
I used to mis-spell "benefit" all the time (I'd spell it "benafit" or "benifit"), until one of my jr.high teachers told me that it's 'bene' because 'bene' means "good" in Latin, and a "benefit" is something "good"! Since then I always spell it correctly!
Take your TOD up on any offers to help you out with any classes in which you're struggling. Also, consider asking for a "peer tutor" (someone in your class, or the grade higher than yours) that can help you with some of the subjects you might be struggling with
The skills you learn now, espeically literacy skills (reading, writing) will benefit you the rest of your life - and the more "work" you put into improving your reading and writing now, the better you'll be and the more "doors" will be open for you (university/college, jobs, even meeting friends!)
