Abstract
It has often been said, “It takes a village to raise a child”; likewise for deaf children born into hearing families, this village model provides the support necessary for optimal developmental outcomes for the child. Here a mixed method design was used to understand the outcomes for deaf adults who grew up a mid-size community with fragmented services in order to better understand what worked and what had not worked for these individuals. Results from a survey and follow up interviews identified two groups of individuals, those who stayed in the community having access only to the local resources and those who left the community finding more resources. In general, those who stayed described themselves as hard of hearing and used a mixture of sign and spoken language while those who left identified as Deaf and reported finding a Deaf community that provided them role models, aspirational capital, and a Deaf identity. Results are discussed using the frame of integrating support for families, effective schooling, and transition services. Recommendations are made to support the creation of such villages for deaf children in areas that may not have sufficient resources.
Highlights
A mixed method design was used to understand the outcomes for deaf adults who grew up a mid-size community with fragmented services in order to better understand what worked and what had not worked for these individuals
The faculty noticed that many deaf people who resided in the area were not employed, did not have degrees, and did not appear to have the support necessary to obtain a higher education degree
As the presence of a mentor has been shown to have a significant impact on deaf adults (Greene-Woods et al, 2021), several questions asked about the presence of a signing mentor during K-12 years and in the workplace
Summary
Several deaf university faculty went to a local Deaf Night Out event where their. The faculty noticed that many deaf people who resided in the area were not employed, did not have degrees, and did not appear to have the support necessary to obtain a higher education degree. It was learned that there were many challenges that the local deaf community faced, which appeared to be partly due to the location of the city in this study. This project emerged from curiosity about local available services and more long term outcomes for the deaf community
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