family voices
Cristina Duarte with her husband and parents.
On Monsters and Music My life as a real-life “CODA,” child of deaf adults, was both like and unlike that portrayed in this year’s winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture. By Cristina Duarte I cannot tell you how many times in my 32 years people have asked me, “What is it like to have parents who are deaf?” My answer has always been the same, regardless of who is asking or how old I am: “What is it like to have hearing parents?” My parents were both born with profound hearing loss to hearing families. Since they were born into hearing families, they were not raised signing—in fact they both only learned to sign in their 20s when they joined (and met through) Self Help for the Hard of Hearing (SHHH) which has since become the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA). As a result of their experiences and upbringing, my parents are both strong lip readers (speech readers), communicate orally, and sign in exact English (SEE)— even my dad, who grew up in Portugal. My mom tells us that neither I nor my siblings really went through the “terrible twos” because we could sign before we could speak, and because of this, we were able to communicate our needs from a young age. 16
hearing health
hhf.org
From what I hear, I was a pretty good signer up until the time I went to kindergarten and saw that none of the other kids signed. Apparently, I came home and confidently informed my parents I would not be signing anymore (what a terrible kid, I know!). Today, as an adult who works in the deaf and hard of hearing community, I sign again. I was beyond excited when I saw the trailer for the film “CODA” (child of deaf adults) for the first time. Even just from watching the clip, I could tell it was going to be good, and probably a little emotional. Once I finally got to watch it, it did not disappoint. I thought the entire cast did a wonderful job, and there were so many points in the movie where I found myself reminiscing about my childhood. It was so wonderful the film won the 2022 Academy Award for Best Picture!
I Can Relate
There were many parts of the movie where I found myself smiling because I felt like I could relate. However, the primary mode of communication in my house growing up
