Deaf Identity Revisited 143
evolution through reading research and going to conferences. We also con-
tacted other parents. It turned out that there is no research evidence on the
positive effects of a CI on children’s social and emotional development. We
were not convinced on that a CI is the best option for Basil. Should we take the
risk? Whether a CI is successful or not seems highly dependent on the individ-
ual child. That is why we decided not to give a CI to Basil. Maybe later.
We saw Kathleen and her husband, Mark, dropping off Basil at a daycare center,
where he meets Manu, a three-year-old deaf boy with a cochlear implant:KAThleen: When I was pregnant with Basil, we had already started looking for a
nursery. We didn’t know yet whether our baby would be deaf or hearing. When
he was identified as deaf, we continued our search for adequate daycare. The
daycare at Spermalie, the deaf school in Bruges, had closed, so this was no
longer an option. Then we contacted Stefaan, Manu’s father, and he told us
about a good nursery with educators who know sign language. We learned that
they were having an open day, and we decided to visit. We felt very welcome.
It is positive that they are encouraging sign language and that deaf children
are growing up with hearing children. Then we decided to bring Basil, so that
he would be in the same group as Manu. It is nice for deaf children to see
each other and have a deaf friend, a role model as well. Then they don’t feel
alone amongst hearing children. The educators have also noticed an advanced
language acquisition in the deaf children; they are communicating with each
other when hearing children don’t do that yet. Some children are also learning
signs. There is a deaf cook, who explains to the children what they will be eat-
ing; she is a role model as well, and they look up to her.The stories of Andy and Kathleen illuminate diversity in the learned practice of
deaf parenting and the negotiation of their own and their families’ identities, fos-
tering inclusivity in childhood and for the future. This corresponds with Cheryl G.
Narajian’s (2006) study of American deaf mothers, in which she viewed these lan-
guage choices as part of “maternal thinking” in relation to difference and same-
ness: “they did this work to allow for the preservation, growth and acceptability
of their children. Yet, their work as mothers also adds another dimension to ma-
ternal thought, since their choices were viewed as political by hearing and Deaf
communities” (p. 117).
In this study, decision making on communication varied and influenced how they
shaped their identities as “mothers and members of the Deaf community, hearing
world, or the places in between” (p. 116), trying to ensure the legitimacy of their
motherhood in these communities, as well as providing their children with the nav-
igational resources needed to participate in both.
The documentary I Am a Human Being, Too, opens with the story of Ria, a deaf
artist in her 60s, painting a portrait of Manu, and ends with deaf people’s dreams
of a colorful future with a wide horizon of possibilities. This process can perhaps be
best captured with Ria’s explanation of her series of paintings, titled “The Evolution
of Deaf People.”