When silence speaks: Understanding experiences of parents who are deaf in rearing their hearing children

Abstract

This is a qualitative and phenomenological study focused on the experiences of parents who are deaf in rearing their hearing children. The study is designed to address the experiences from the perspective of the parents and to allow them to tell how their disability impacted their rearing practices for their hearing children. Using the phenomenological interview in data collection, the study described the actual lived experiences of the participants who are also known as the co-researchers in this study. Parents who are deaf voluntarily participated in the in-depth interviews. Interview data were transcribed and subsequently analyzed using Moustakas (1994) steps in data analysis to facilitate the development of themes. Specific themes arose from the verbatim statements which showed different elements involved in rearing of their hearing children. The essence of these experiences from the rearing practices of parents who are deaf had these elements: communication gaps, discipline, and self recognized limitations. These particular elements were identified as challenges and were overcome through support groups, role reversals and faith of the parents. It was recommended that more emphasis should be placed on working with the entire family system, development of a solid communication base, service providers should work toward a balanced approach to intervention strategies and improve coordination of manual and auditory skills.