I started drumming back in the late '60s, playing mostly original material with mates and buddies, but also going through rudiments from drum methods, notably a couple from Joe Morello, and the very excellent 'Modern Techniques For The Progressive Drummer', by Max Abrams. There's no tab (that I know of...) for drums, so reading became second nature, as did writing out parts when either studying or working stuff out for bands. When I moved to France, I had no time at all to pick up a more-than-five-hour repertoire of variety pieces, from dance to pop to rock to 'typique' (Caribbean...) and latin, and so wrote out a great many pieces, as drum scores were, and still are, rather scarce. I had a very fat and full ring folder on my music stand, but, having transcribed and written out the parts myself, I no longer needed to really sight-read them, they had become just a memory aid, glanced at before counting in. The gigs were five hours, non-stop, with hardly time to turn the pages anyway, and often even less, so having the stuff well ingrained was key.
I must say that I write out a great deal less nowadays, and pick up drum lines mostly by listening through the track, as experience counts over time, and one gets to anticipate what's going on with many modern pop/rock songs. In our current band we adapt to our formation and playing style, in any case, so I no longer need to play an exact copy of the original, as long as any key features are respected.
As a resumé, I'd suggest that reading (not necessarily reading at sight...) is an important skill for any musician, on any instrument, and can never impoverish.
Just my tuppence-worth.