Learning to read presents special challenges to children who are deaf or hard of hearing, but a recently awarded grant could help those students read on the same grade level as their hearing peers. Georgia State University special education professors Susan Easterbrooks, a longtime Gainesville resident, and Amy Lederberg have been awarded a $10 million grant to create the first national research center aimed at improving reading for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The grant comes from the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education.