What Issues Do Hearing Parents And Deaf Children Likely Have?

The article delves into the challenges faced by hearing parents with deaf children and the impact of cochlear implants on the Deaf community. It challenges the reductive definition of deafness as a disability and advocates for the recognition of deaf culture and language. A preliminary framework is proposed to highlight the enablers and barriers that hearing parents of deaf children experience in relation to the systems and the community.

Over 90 of deaf children are born to hearing parents who have limited knowledge about deafness and require comprehensive support and information. Four hypotheses were tested: parents of deaf children were expected to report higher levels of general and context-specific stress than parents of hearing; only 27 of hearing families with a deaf child were connected with deaf adults to help support their child; spending time with deaf and hard-of-hearing role models can help understand what it means to be deaf; hearing-impaired children struggle to communicate with their hearing parents, resulting in frustration on the part of parent and child; hearing parents must develop their understanding of hearing loss to make good communication choices for their children; unresolved feelings of diagnosis are linked to lower parenting morale and greater perception of child vulnerability; and communication is the biggest struggle for deaf babies, as they often have no experience of deafness and often do not know other people.

What do deaf children struggle with?

Education plays a crucial role in shaping a person’s social development, especially for deaf children. Limited communication opportunities can lead to isolation, making it difficult for them to form friendships and engage in extracurricular activities. Traditional classroom settings may not provide the necessary environment for effective communication, causing emotional distress and lower self-esteem. Access to support services like sign language interpreters and note-takers is essential to mitigate these challenges and ensure inclusive education for deaf students.

However, these services are not always available or properly implemented in educational institutions. Therefore, it is essential to provide appropriate support services to help deaf students thrive in their education.

How does deafness run in families?

Deafness is often passed down through autosomal recessive inheritance, where two parents each pass on a recessive gene. This means that if someone has at least one working copy of a specific gene pair, the cell produces enough working protein to produce a non-working gene. It is estimated that we all carry some non-working recessive genes, but due to having a second working copy, we don’t notice any effects.

For example, if both parents are carriers of one recessive gene variant that causes deafness but each have a second working copy, they will not have deafness due to this gene. Each time they have a child, each of them could pass on either the working gene copy or the non-working copy. This is similar to how chocolate cake can be made with two copies of the recipe, with one copy having cocoa and the other missing.

What do deaf people struggle with the most?

Millions of people are unable to cope with the invisible disability of deafness, often due to ignorance of the issue. These individuals often fail to overcome daily difficulties such as communication, understanding speech in noisy environments, and participating in work meetings. Hearing aids are often misunderstood as a cure for deafness, and many people believe they can solve all problems. To address this issue, it is crucial to invest in training for all team members and take on the role of informing, educating, and self-educating about inclusion and equity.

What challenges do parents of deaf children face?

The family has been dealing with challenges related to Harry, a deaf child who received cochlear implants. Despite these challenges, they have managed to resolve them with minimal problems. One of the most challenging aspects is keeping hearing aids on, learning how to communicate, returning to work, finding deaf-friendly baby groups, dealing with speech delay, creating a night time routine, and finding nursery/day care.

Harry was fitted with hearing aids at a young age, which was challenging due to his wiggly and active nature. He constantly pulled his aids out, making whistling noises and the moulds not keeping up with his growth. Despite the difficulties, patience and toupee tape helped Harry stop touching and pulling his hearing aids. Other options to keep hearing aids in ears include specially made caps and headbands.

What are the benefits of being deaf with hearing parents?

Hearing parents typically learn ASL alongside their deaf children, but exposure to ASL during infancy can help children develop age-expected vocabulary skills. Studies have shown that exposure to ASL during infancy can lead to the development of age-expected vocabulary skills. Additionally, early traumas unique to being deaf in a hearing world can be experienced by deaf trauma survivors. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the critical period for language development in children and promoting language learning for all.

How do hearing parents communicate with deaf children?

Research indicates that signing does not interfere with speech development, and expressive language ability, including sign language ability, is a significant predictor of speech. Parents of children with cochlear implants should not sign with their child, as it may help their speech ability. Signing with a child with residual hearing is not harmful, as many individuals communicate both through sign language and speech. Learning to sign takes commitment, practice, and time, but many hearing parents become proficient or fluent.

Good communication, starting as early as possible, will enhance the relationship with your child throughout their lives. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 Conference Report 108-779 and Yoshinaga-Itano and Sedey provide further information on the relationship between language and hearing in children with disabilities.

How does hearing loss affect family life?

Untreated hearing loss can lead to social isolation, strained relationships, and frustration within the family. The gradual onset of hearing loss can cause misunderstandings, withdrawal from social gatherings, and increased irritability. Untreated hearing loss can also lead to other risk factors such as dementia, depression, and loneliness, as well as personal safety issues and difficulty learning new tasks. Hearing aids can slow down the deterioration of hearing.

If hearing loss is affecting you and your family, it’s time to start your journey towards better hearing. A complimentary online hearing screening can provide a general view of your hearing abilities, allowing you to get instant results. It’s crucial to understand the impact of hearing loss on your family and start your journey towards better hearing.

Why do some deaf children struggle growing up in a hearing home?

Hearing-impaired children often struggle with communication with their hearing parents, leading to frustration and controlling interactions. This study examines the relationship between language, attention, and behavior problems in 116 severely and profoundly deaf and 69 normally hearing children aged 1. 5 to 5 years. The data was collected as part of the Childhood Development After Cochlear Implantation Study, funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Hearing-impaired children showed more language, attention, and behavioral difficulties, and spent less time communicating with their parents than normally hearing children. Structural equation modeling indicated significant relationships between language, attention, and child behavior problems. Language was associated with behavior problems both directly and indirectly through effects on attention, while the amount of parent-child communication was not related to behavior problems.

What is a struggle for children who grew up with deaf parents?

Children of deaf adults (CODA) are hearing children born to deaf parents, with over 90% of deaf adults having children with normal hearing ability. These children often face communication, social, and cultural challenges due to the unique difference between the deaf and hearing worlds. CODA, also known as “mother-father deaf”, grow up in unique circumstances, exposed to both the deaf and hearing communities.

Communication is a major challenge for CODA, as most deaf people use sign language, and their hearing children learn sign language naturally, similar to hearing children who learn spoken language from their hearing parents.

How does hearing loss affect children mentally?

The prevalence of hearing loss in children and adolescents is associated with an increased risk of mental health disorders, including communication delays, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, social isolation, and depression, when compared to their peers with normal hearing.

Will my kids be deaf if my parents are deaf?

Hearing loss affects 50-60% of babies, with over 100 common genetic disorders related to it. Nearly 25 genes in the human genome are likely to be involved in hearing, as they are expressed in the developing human cochlea. Deaf parents with unknown genetic information have a 10 chance of having a deaf child. 30 of children born with hearing loss have had infections during pregnancy, prematurity, or other complications of their mother’s pregnancy. Current genetic testing can inform parents of the likely cause of their child’s hearing loss and educate them about the chance that other children may be affected.

Approximately 1 in 1 of all children are born with intrauterine exposure to cytomegalovirus (CMV), the most common intrauterine infection in the United States. About 40, 000 babies born with CMV infection each year in the US die, and the remaining 8, 000 suffer from various permanent disabilities. 8-12 of babies born with congenital CMV may have no obvious signs at birth but will go on to develop sensorineural hearing loss.

Studies estimate that 20 of babies born with hearing loss have CMV infection as the cause. Progressive hearing loss from CMV infection can be treated with anti-viral medications, but only if diagnosed in the newborn period.