Generational Deafness

Generational Deafness… this may be a term you are familiar with and maybe one that you’re just putting together a definition in your mind based on the individual words “generational” and “deafness”. What you’ll learn today though is the stark impact generational deafness has on families in developing countries and/or impoverished communities. 

Think about all of the things that have been handed down to you through the generations. Maybe a recipe that came from a grandparent, passed on to your parent, and then to you. Of course you plan to pass it along to your own children and hope they pass it along to theirs someday. Or, maybe you have an old tool, or photos or paintings that have been handed down over the generations.

What about stories? Where were your grandparents born? Where did your ancestors come from? What interesting things happened to them in their lifetime? Now imagine all of those stories exist but there is no way to hear about them because you cannot hear. Your grandmother who was born deaf was raised in a world that didn’t know how to educate her, she gave birth to a son who grew up just as isolated and uneducated because the opportunities that were not there for her continue to not be there for him. Then you come along and the relationships are so deeply impacted at this point that any hope for meaningful connection is fractured beyond repair. Until somebody learns Sign Language that is…

Rich language does not need to be a spoken language. If your grandmother had had the opportunity to learn Sign and then be educated in Sign, then so would your father and you would be born into a family full of connection. This hypothetical scenario is actually the very real and harsh reality for millions globally.

We live in an era that is learning more about the impacts of generational trauma and how those cycles can be broken with help and intervention and individuals can pull away from familial patterns that perpetuate the trauma.  No doubt about it, Deaf children living in poverty are experiencing trauma everyday. They cannot break the cycle alone, they need help. They need us and we need you. God Bless.