Family Dispersion
There are overwhelming issues that many Deaf people share in New Zealand. Such issues were raised when five individuals shared their experiences at the “Deaf Life Panel.” These people are Deaf and all had something to say about family and how tough it was to have family members, especially parents, which could not communicate with you effectively.
The issues I will hope to share is how Deaf people find it demanding when all family members are hearing and the cause of “Family Dispersion,” meaning that family ties are cut. Also, I will try to convey the importance of NZSL in the home environment and share my assumptions on how Deaf communities are formed.
The truth is, for some Deaf people, their relationship with their family is non-existent. Ties are broken and some never communicate with their family for long periods of time. This is due to Language and a Difference in culture. Difference - meaning, Deaf culture and hearing culture. Language - meaning NZSL and verbal English.
To start with, I will introduce a woman who is Deaf (for privacy reasons, I will call her Helen). Like many Deaf people, Helen had hearing parents and siblings. She was sent to boarding school for Deaf children at a young age and spent most of her childhood years there. At the age of 16, she left school and started work. Helen had various jobs in New Zealand but later decided to move to America. America seemed like a good option for her as she wanted a fresh start in a new country. Her family ties at this time were almost non existent. Helen spent eight years in America searching for understanding and acceptance before moving back to New Zealand. To Helen it seemed that no matter where she moved or how many different jobs she had she still felt dissimilar in a hearing world. Helen is now 64yrs of age and still she rarely contacts, communicates and interacts with her family.
Helen felt isolated from her family from the moment she enrolled in boarding school. Her siblings were not required to begin their education far from home instead they stayed close to home. Helen’s parents may have felt the need to send Helen to a place where she could bond with other Deaf children and immerse herself into the Deaf Culture. Instead Helen’s parents isolated Helen from her own family and left her trapped between two cultures that she knew little about. So as you can see there is a distinct separation between Helen and her family (Family Dispersion).
Like Helen, one particular person from Deaf panel had similar early experiences especially with the cultural differences in her family. In the interview, the Deaf panel member explained how she was distant from her brother and sister. Her brother and sister are hearing so their culture is automatically different from her Deaf culture. She explains that she would rather interact with people in the Deaf community than with her own family. It is because of the strong sense of belonging Deaf people have within their Deaf community. This particular Panel member feels isolated from her own family’s culture because they are hearing. She has embraced the Deaf culture and therefore has lost the common family bond between herself and her siblings.
NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language) contributes the mental and social welfare of Deaf people especially to people like Helen and the 5 panel members. NZSL is a language that Deaf people use to unite, socialise and communicate. It gives Deaf people the chance to be heard and interact within a hearing world. Unfortunately NZSL has not always been the first method of communication between Deaf people. Within a culturally diverse family (Deaf and hearing) it was often preferred that the Deaf members of the family learn how to communicate by reading lips and responding vocally
As Helen explained earlier in this piece, she was sent to a boarding school for the Deaf. At the school sign language was not allowed and oralism was strongly enforced. The main endeavor of the school was to prepare Helen for a life in the hearing world instead of providing her with the tools to succeed in both the hearing and Deaf cultures. Helen shares these educational experiences with many Deaf people who belong to the same generation as herself. Remember Milan? The infamous conference that enforced oralism and the impact it had on how Deaf people lived there lives here in New Zealand? Well like many Deaf people, Helen was forced to “act” like a hearing person. She was deprived of her first language and in order to break the chains of her ‘hearing conformity’ she left school at a young age to seek resolution and acceptance.
All Deaf panel members had many positive things to say about the Deaf community. One aspect that they all had in common is that they all loved socialising with Deaf people within an environment that was safe from prejudices. (Member 3 quoted) “On Friday’s after work, I can’t wait to go to the Deaf club to mix with other Deaf people.” So how did the Deaf community form? There are many aspects to consider when answering this question but I think that language, misconceptions from the hearing culture and sheared experiences are some of the strongest contributors to forming a Deaf community. Deaf people want to be heard and contribute in their own way. They do not want to weave themselves into the hearing culture they want a community that embraces them for being Deaf and different from the hearing world. A community where Deaf people have a significant voice that is nurtured and embraced.
Both language and culture has a strong influence on Deaf people. It can cause negative and positive situations that determine how one would live their life. Helen and the 5 panel members have shared many stories and life experiences and I congratulate their courage. The aspect of family is a sensitive subject to share with strangers and I hope that I have provided an insight into Deaf families and how they function. But most importantly I hope that they have provided us with enough knowledge to change that future and make it a more accepting place to live.
There are overwhelming issues that many Deaf people share in New Zealand. Such issues were raised when five individuals shared their experiences at the “Deaf Life Panel.” These people are Deaf and all had something to say about family and how tough it was to have family members, especially parents, which could not communicate with you effectively.
The issues I will hope to share is how Deaf people find it demanding when all family members are hearing and the cause of “Family Dispersion,” meaning that family ties are cut. Also, I will try to convey the importance of NZSL in the home environment and share my assumptions on how Deaf communities are formed.
The truth is, for some Deaf people, their relationship with their family is non-existent. Ties are broken and some never communicate with their family for long periods of time. This is due to Language and a Difference in culture. Difference - meaning, Deaf culture and hearing culture. Language - meaning NZSL and verbal English.
To start with, I will introduce a woman who is Deaf (for privacy reasons, I will call her Helen). Like many Deaf people, Helen had hearing parents and siblings. She was sent to boarding school for Deaf children at a young age and spent most of her childhood years there. At the age of 16, she left school and started work. Helen had various jobs in New Zealand but later decided to move to America. America seemed like a good option for her as she wanted a fresh start in a new country. Her family ties at this time were almost non existent. Helen spent eight years in America searching for understanding and acceptance before moving back to New Zealand. To Helen it seemed that no matter where she moved or how many different jobs she had she still felt dissimilar in a hearing world. Helen is now 64yrs of age and still she rarely contacts, communicates and interacts with her family.
Helen felt isolated from her family from the moment she enrolled in boarding school. Her siblings were not required to begin their education far from home instead they stayed close to home. Helen’s parents may have felt the need to send Helen to a place where she could bond with other Deaf children and immerse herself into the Deaf Culture. Instead Helen’s parents isolated Helen from her own family and left her trapped between two cultures that she knew little about. So as you can see there is a distinct separation between Helen and her family (Family Dispersion).
Like Helen, one particular person from Deaf panel had similar early experiences especially with the cultural differences in her family. In the interview, the Deaf panel member explained how she was distant from her brother and sister. Her brother and sister are hearing so their culture is automatically different from her Deaf culture. She explains that she would rather interact with people in the Deaf community than with her own family. It is because of the strong sense of belonging Deaf people have within their Deaf community. This particular Panel member feels isolated from her own family’s culture because they are hearing. She has embraced the Deaf culture and therefore has lost the common family bond between herself and her siblings.
NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language) contributes the mental and social welfare of Deaf people especially to people like Helen and the 5 panel members. NZSL is a language that Deaf people use to unite, socialise and communicate. It gives Deaf people the chance to be heard and interact within a hearing world. Unfortunately NZSL has not always been the first method of communication between Deaf people. Within a culturally diverse family (Deaf and hearing) it was often preferred that the Deaf members of the family learn how to communicate by reading lips and responding vocally
As Helen explained earlier in this piece, she was sent to a boarding school for the Deaf. At the school sign language was not allowed and oralism was strongly enforced. The main endeavor of the school was to prepare Helen for a life in the hearing world instead of providing her with the tools to succeed in both the hearing and Deaf cultures. Helen shares these educational experiences with many Deaf people who belong to the same generation as herself. Remember Milan? The infamous conference that enforced oralism and the impact it had on how Deaf people lived there lives here in New Zealand? Well like many Deaf people, Helen was forced to “act” like a hearing person. She was deprived of her first language and in order to break the chains of her ‘hearing conformity’ she left school at a young age to seek resolution and acceptance.
All Deaf panel members had many positive things to say about the Deaf community. One aspect that they all had in common is that they all loved socialising with Deaf people within an environment that was safe from prejudices. (Member 3 quoted) “On Friday’s after work, I can’t wait to go to the Deaf club to mix with other Deaf people.” So how did the Deaf community form? There are many aspects to consider when answering this question but I think that language, misconceptions from the hearing culture and sheared experiences are some of the strongest contributors to forming a Deaf community. Deaf people want to be heard and contribute in their own way. They do not want to weave themselves into the hearing culture they want a community that embraces them for being Deaf and different from the hearing world. A community where Deaf people have a significant voice that is nurtured and embraced.
Both language and culture has a strong influence on Deaf people. It can cause negative and positive situations that determine how one would live their life. Helen and the 5 panel members have shared many stories and life experiences and I congratulate their courage. The aspect of family is a sensitive subject to share with strangers and I hope that I have provided an insight into Deaf families and how they function. But most importantly I hope that they have provided us with enough knowledge to change that future and make it a more accepting place to live.