Who are CODA’S ?
A CODA or Child of a Deaf Adult
A child born to or raised by a deaf parent (or both parents).Up to 90% of children born to deaf parents are hearing. Although hearing, they are members of the Deaf community from birth and their first language is often Sign Language.
However, their identity and contribution as Deaf community members are frequently overlooked by the rest of society. Too often, this results in challenges for both CODAs and their Deaf parents.
There is a lot of research and programmes to help hearing parents raise and educate their Deaf children, but there appears to be very little research or support for Deaf parents who have hearing children, as well as the hearing children themselves.
CODAs and their Deaf parents typically share a sign language (whether formal Sign Language or other forms of sign language) as well as a cultural experience. Codas are liaisons between their deaf parents and the hearing world in which they live, navigating the border between the deaf and hearing worlds.