Meghan L. Fox
8 min
Hearing children of deaf parents (Kodas) inhabit a unique developmental space, often serving as cultural and linguistic bridges between the Deaf and hearing worlds. While they share their parents' cultural affiliations, they also navigate the majority-hearing society, often feeling like outsiders in both. Research suggests that these children frequently take on adult-like responsibilities—such as interpreting, advocating for their parents, and acting as protectors—which can lead to complex identities, role reversal, and feelings of social isolation.
Despite the clear challenges and distinct psychological needs associated with this upbringing, there is a lack of institutionalized support for adolescent Kodas. The author proposes a structured 15-session support group program, Kids of Deaf Adults (Kodas): A Place to Belong. This intervention is designed to create a safe, non-pathologizing environment where adolescents aged 12–17 can share their experiences, explore their fluctuating identities, and receive validation for the complexities of being raised in a Deaf-parented family.
The program fills a significant gap in clinical care, as many existing resources for Kodas are either sporadic, geographically inaccessible, or focused on adults rather than the critical adolescent period. By addressing the psychological dissonance between Deaf and hearing cultural norms, the program aims to improve participant self-esteem, life satisfaction, and social support. Furthermore, the model incorporates a rigorous logic framework for program evaluation, providing a roadmap for practitioners to measure outcomes and refine support services for this often-overlooked population.
Hearing children of deaf parents (C/Kodas) comprise a unique group that carries experiences as interpreters, protectors, and advocates. Kodas also have distinct experiences family dynamics and are bilingual and bicultural. Consequently, Kodas have complex identities and related identity development processes with few places to find support. There is a need for culturally sensitive and informed programs to create spaces for Kodas to process complexities and connect with others similar to them. This manuscript focuses on presenting an original research-informed support group program (Kids of Deaf Adults: A Place to Belong) for adolescent Kodas.
Sam: It discusses parentification: taking on adult responsibilities before being developmentally or emotionally ready. It also describes role reversal, where children perceive parents as dependent on them and themselves as responsible. Those are concerns to explore, not labels to apply to every family.
Alex: Schools seem especially relevant here. A child can understand both sides of an exchange while still being the student who needs adult support.
Sam: The review describes children interpreting during parent visits to school. It also challenges assumptions that language differences imply learning problems. The cited research found no evidence supporting a higher rate of learning problems among Kodas.
Alex: So the proposed response isn’t to correct the family’s culture. What existed before this curriculum?
Sam: Fox identifies four camps or programs for young Kodas in the United States at the time of writing. She describes barriers involving location, enrollment limits, and expense. Many operated annually, with limited support beyond that experience.
Alex: That makes continuity the gap. What does she claim is new about this program, beyond bringing similar young people together?
Sam: She calls it the first program of its kind: a guided adolescent support curriculum combining peer support with therapeutic processing. It is intended for regular delivery in community agencies, outpatient settings, or alongside camps. It should operate through, or with, an agency serving deaf people and their families.
Alex: Walk us through the actual commitment. Who joins, and what would participation look like?
Sam: The target age range is twelve to seventeen. Participants stay together in a closed group, rather than having new members continually join. The program contains fifteen sessions. Each lasts ninety minutes, with check-ins, activities, discussion, and a closing period.
Alex: Those logistics create a group, but not necessarily a culturally sensitive one. What makes the therapeutic approach fit these particular teenagers?
Sam: The central move is to hold challenges and cultural strengths together. Participants can explore family roles, identity, and relationships without being asked to reject their Deaf connections. Activities include art, verbal expression, and writing letters to younger Kodas.
Alex: The letter activity gives them a way to speak from experience, rather than only describe a problem. What outcomes does Fox actually want to change?
Sam: Self-esteem, identity resolution, life satisfaction, and perceived social support. Here, identity resolution means finding a workable sense of self across their affiliations. The aim is not to force a choice between Deaf and hearing identities, but to allow overlap and change.
Alex: Talking openly about family difficulties can itself feel disloyal. Does the curriculum account for that tension?
Sam: Fox gives it special attention. Some Kodas may feel that discussing parents or the Deaf community amounts to betrayal. Therapists should address confidentiality, trust, and possible concerns about community gossip from screening onward, rather than interpreting reluctance without that context.
Alex: That sounds demanding for the staff. Is this presented as something any facilitator can pick up and deliver?
Sam: No. Fox specifies clinical supervision and therapists, with relevant experience in deaf communities and group work. Staff receive training before sessions begin. Intake also examines family communication, individual needs, and whether the young person can participate appropriately.
Alex: Now the evidence question. What supports the need for this intervention, and what supports this particular intervention working?
Sam: Those are separate questions. The review cites reports of support and relief from connecting with other Kodas or knowledgeable professionals. In one cited adult survey, thirty-six percent said individual counseling would have been beneficial. That is retrospective perceived need, not evidence that this curriculum helps.
Alex: Do we know how many adults answered that survey, or have any adolescent outcomes from the proposed group?
Sam: This article does not give that survey’s sample size. More decisively, the proposed group had not been implemented. There are no program participants, measured improvements, or comparisons with another form of support to assess here.
Alex: Then the contribution is a research-informed blueprint, not an established treatment. Does Fox provide a route from the blueprint to evidence?
Sam: She proposes measures of identity development, social support, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and individual goal attainment. Evaluation would also use interviews, observations, records, and satisfaction data. Those plans could inform revision, but they are plans, not reported results.
Alex: For someone deciding whether to read the full article, where does that leave your verdict?
Sam: Read it if you develop adolescent services, study deaf-parented families, or design culturally sensitive group interventions. Start with “Session Themes and Interventions,” then “Special Recommendations” for the trust and confidentiality issues. Read “Program Evaluation” with the untested status firmly in mind.
Alex: And for researchers outside that work, what is the one point to carry forward?
Sam: Support can take cultural differences seriously without treating those differences as illness. Fox offers a concrete design for doing that with Kodas; whether it delivers the intended benefits remains an open research question.
Alex: Thanks for listening.