User:Crawford.sa

Child of Deaf Adults

A CODA is a child of Deaf adults. The meaning of this is a child that is hearing who has one or more parents who is not hearing. These children make up 85-90% of the Deaf population.

History

Millie Brother invented the term CODA in 1983, and this term is still used today. There is also the term KODA, which means Kids of Deaf Adults, which refers to children under the age of 18. This organization was set up to help CODAs come together and talk about their experiences and support one another. The word CODA stems from the music term ‘coda’, which is used in music to end a song.

Challenges

Language

A difficulty they can face is switching from American Sign Language to English. They use two languages: English and American Sign Language. They first learn ASL, because that is what their parents mainly use. Then, as they get older, they start learn to talk in English. This makes them bilingual. Examples of where they get English from are school, TV, neighbors, and sometimes hearing relatives if they have them. The order of words in ASL is different than in English, so sometimes it is difficult to switch between the two languages and use them the right way.

Culture

CODAs have two different cultures: the hearing and the Deaf. They are integrated into both, because of how they grew up. They do not feel they are a part of just one group, and they do not fully feel comfortable in just one group.

Interpreting

From a young age, CODAs are frequently the interpreter for their parents in the hearing world. In a medical hospital, or when someone breathes their last breath, sometimes they have to interpret even though they may be too young to do so.

Interpreting

If they are smooth and effortless when signing, some CODAs become certified interpreters. They know the language well and are easily accepted in the Deaf community, when other non-CODA hearing interpreters may not.

Support

There are a few support organizations in different countries for CODAs. One of the most known is CODA International, which Millie Brother set up. There is one for the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as for Australia and other European countries. There are also support groups for KODAs, and camps for them as well.

Other Deaf Culture Acronyms

GODA = Grandchild of Deaf Adults
SODA = Spouse/Sibling of Deaf Adult

Important CODAs

Alexander Graham Bell, whose mother, Eliza Grace Symonds Bell, was hard of hearing, and whose wife, Mabel Hubbard, became deaf at age 5
Edward Miner Gallaudet, founder of Gallaudet University, son of Sophia Fowler Gallaudet and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet who founded the American School for the Deaf, the first school for the deaf in the U.S.

Citations:

Millie Brother

Millie Brother invented the term CODA and set up the organization of the same name.

History

Millie grew up in California with her [[Deaf] parents. When she was older, she joined the Peace Corps and her position was in a Deaf school in the West Indies^[1]. After this experience, she started graduate school at Gallaudet University^[2].

Start of CODA

While at Gallaudet, Millie started thinking about how she didn’t feel like she was part of the Deaf community, and had the same feelings about the hearing community. At the Gallaudet library, she could only discover a little about people like her. She came up with some questions and sent it to other CODAs^[3]. People had written back to her with answers to her questions, made connections about their experiences, and the CODA name and organization grew from there.

References

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