The bridge between two worlds: Experiences of growing up as hearing children of deaf parents

More than 90% of deaf parents have hearing children. These children are often bilingual and bicultural and they usually represent communication brokers in the situations that can be inappropriate for their age and stressful for children. These children lack the recognition as a minority group needing specific support, and due to the lack of research, the aim of this paper is to explore the experiences of hearing children raised in the families with deaf parents in Serbia. Data were collected through the focus group consisting of six young adults and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings show that taking on a high level of responsibility is a key characteristic of the participants’ childhood, including the early involvement in interpreting and assuming a role similar to that of a parent. The participants expressed the need to protect their parents from unpleasant situations, which often stem from stigma and discrimination related to deafness. Concerning the relationship with their parents, the participants report the attitude toward stronger mutual emotional closeness and highlight the benefits they gain through such early maturation experiences, by naming the skills which are useful for the coping with different situations in adulthood. The importance of social support during the period of growing up is emphasized, and the fact that the participants do not blame their parents’ deafness for the negative aspects of growing up. The consistent finding is that the most meaningful changes would include raising awareness in the community and normalizing deafness.