Mother Father Deaf

979 Words4 Pages
You would not distinguish them on the street or in your home. Their appearance and dress are as diverse as their lifestyles. They are punk rockers with earrings and gray-haired grandparents. They are bartenders, teachers, and doctors. They may even be insurance salesmen or politicians. Their speech is unremarkable, except for the dialects and accents of their geographic home communities. Their manner can be shy and retiring, or lively and lavish. They may be married or single, gay or straight. Some are model citizens and others have records. Hearing children of deaf parents seem to be any man or woman. Indeed, informants often labeled themselves as unusually adept at fitting into an assortment of environments. The term "Mother Father Deaf" refers to the sign language phrase identifying hearing children who have deaf parents, forever balancing the worlds of sound and silence. These children are oftentimes referred to as CODA or Children of Deaf Adults. Outside researchers have grouped the hearing children under acronyms for the convenience of the researcher and do not reflect the actual usage among deaf parents or their hearing children. When Millie Brother founded CODA, she said that initially she used the musical term “coda” (a concluding musical section that differs from the main structure) because of the metaphorical similarities between the hearing children and deaf parents. Preston, the author, is one of these children, and he shares with us a story of his life growing up with deaf parents. Throughout this book, he takes us to the place where Deaf and Hearing cultures meet, where families like his own symbolize the conflicts and resolutions of two often opposing world views. In this powerful examination based on interviews with one hundred and fifty hearing adults with deaf parents, Preston presents the personal stories of this diverse group and in the
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