The social construction of ‘deafness’: explored through the experiences of Black South African mothers raising a deaf child

Abstract

Individual realities and perceptions are embedded in a web of dominant social and cultural views which shape the individual. Mothers of deaf children therefore cannot be understood in isolation, and neither can their experiences, perceptions, and well-being. The present research investigated the construction of deafness through the experiences of mothers raising a deaf child and considered the manner in which these constructions impacted their well-being and relationship with the child. The study explored the experiences of six Black South African hearing mothers of a deaf child between the ages of 3 and 8 years. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted. Through an interpretive theoretical framework, this qualitative study noted seven main themes, namely, deafness is foreign and unknown, increased awareness and normalising of deafness, religious and Traditional African beliefs about disability/deafness, external pity and the mother's rejection of it, the discourse of the 'superiority' of speech and encouragement of speech and hearing, barriers to communicating with her child, and 'Why me?' attribution of cause and the emergence of blame. Extrapolation of the data suggests that there is a lack of awareness regarding the deaf individual, and this creates misinformed perceptions about deafness which impact negatively both mother and child.

The good, the bad, and the utilitarian: attitudes towards genetic testing and implications for disability

“…One potential explanation might be related to the anticipated personal, medical, and social challenges associated with raising a deaf child by hearing potential parents (Plotkin et al, 2014), including the difficulties and medical challenges of choosing a cochlear implant, a hearing aid device (or none) (Haddad et al, 2019, Jackson & Turnbull, 2004. Nevertheless, the social construction of deafness (Kara & Harvey, 2017) might be another potential explanation for this specific result, potentially connected to the models of disability our participants generally adhere to, and future studies might benefit from further exploring it. In line with these results, another future research direction might explore the identity of the future child, as conceptualized by Solomon (2014).…”

"It's a hearing world" : parents' perspectives of the social and emotional well-being of children who are deaf and hard of hearing

“…Another study found that the well-being of mothers was negatively affected by negative social constructs of deafness (Kara & Harvey, 2017). Mothers were negatively affected by misconceptions related to deafness most notably through the pity they received from others.…”

“…According to Kara and Harvey (2017), who conducted semi-structured interviews with South African mothers of children between three and eight years old, negative constructs of deafness lead to misconceptions that not only negatively affect mothers of children who are DHH but in turn negatively affect the children. This suggests a bi-directional relationship between parents of children who are DHH and their children, where that what negatively affects parents in turn affects their children.…”

“…Negative social constructs of deafness lead to fewer acceptances from parents and peers. Fewer acceptances from others ultimately result in more social barriers for children who are DHH, affecting their social and emotional experiences (Kara & Harvey, 2017).…”

“…From analyzing their 20 individual semi-structured interviews with parents, Fitzpatrick et al (2016) found that more changes need to be made at the diagnostic stages in order for these parents and their families to receive better support and guidance. As previously mentioned, understanding more about their child's deafness at the time of diagnosis can assist in positively influencing parents' willingness to accept their child's diagnosis (Kara & Harvey, 2017). Fitzpatrick, Angus, Durieux-Smith, Graham, and Coyle (2008) interviewed 17 parents about their needs after learning about their child's hearing impairment.…”