| The purposes of this phenomenological study were to (a) describe the lived experiences of 13 hearing individuals who grew up hearing in their all-Deaf family and (b) examine how those experiences shaped their identity. Bauman's theory, which holds that a Deaf identity is comprised of culture, attitude, audiological deafness, politics, use of American Sign Language (ASL), social values, and ethnicity, guided this study. Using processes of analytical induction, findings illustrated shared experiences across participants, including delayed awareness of their hearing ability, schools' unfamiliarity with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), frustration in their role as interpreter for their parents, and feelings of disconnection in school. These findings support the importance of cultural awareness and mental health/school training for the Deaf and hearing communities. Findings also call for better communication between schools and Deaf families, given that interpreters are not always provided and/or parents are not always contacted. Implications for social change include school initiatives to facilitate greater parent involvement in their children's education and helping parents recognize that their hearing children need guidance as they develop identities that include two different cultures. |
