Call Him Deaf

Dennis Puent is 54 years old, a father to three kids, and has been deaf his whole life. He grew up in a fully hearing family except for one distant cousin on his father’s side of the family, who is also deaf. Not only was Dennis the only one in his family that was deaf, but he was also the only deaf child out of nine siblings.

Imagine a household with ten loud children. There is screaming from room to room about what to play next, who is where, when is dinner, and all the chaotic noise that comes with a big family. There is fighting at the dinner table and important conversations before bed, but no way to understand any of this. Imagine the frustration of not being able to communicate with your own family. The natural reaction for most people in this situation seems to be the acceptance of loneliness and isolation, or to designate oneself in an outcast position from your own family. It feels logical for this type of situation to be followed up with a sad story about a disadvantage that led to trauma in Dennis’ life. But it is actually the exact opposite for Dennis. It led to his success.

Dennis’ siblings and both of his parents only spoke English. They never learned ASL for him. Dennis did not accept being left out of the family and their conversations though. With the only way for him to communicate with his family being English, he had to work hard to adapt in order to communicate with them. “My great grandparents moved to America from Germany so me and my cousin are the first ones deaf in my family. But now my kids are deaf, so we are a first-generation deaf family. My mom taught me how to speak and how to make words with my mouth. All of my family talked, and I had to work really hard to learn to lip read” Dennis detailed as he described the feeling of being the first one deaf in his whole family. Over time, his mom was able to help him out and teach him English and how to read lips. This was one of the most difficult challenges Dennis has ever faced, but he did it. He learned how to speak English and read lips, not because it was easy, but because it was his only choice.

Forced Adaption to a Hearing World

The growth and adaption that most people of the deaf community have to go through is often not by choice. Unfortunately, the world is not always fair. It does not adapt to people, people adapt to it, and in the United States especially, a majority of the opportunities, experiences, and jobs provided involve working in the English language. American Sign Language is a language like no other. A lot of people get caught up in thinking that ASL is directly translated from English and that deaf people, who use ASL, also know English because they are thinking it in their head as they are speaking ASL. This is not true. ASL is its own language. For the deaf community, learning English is like learning a completely new language, not just learning to read lips. Most of the time, learning another language is a choice made by the person because of who they surround themselves with or what language they immerge themselves in. For the deaf community, they are immerged in other languages from hearing people all the time. Learning English and learning to read lips is an adaption that a lot of them are forced to make almost every single day.

The most impressive part of all of the forms of adaption, learning, and progression that Dennis has had to go through is not even the intense knowledge, time, and practice that it took him to adjust to the flow of the hearing world. It is the attitude that he carries through it all. It is not an attitude of anger toward the world or unfairness, but an attitude of acceptance and gratefulness. While this may not be everyone’s experience and attitude toward it all, this is Dennis’ viewpoint of the forced adaption that he has had to make. He has had to learn a lot and been forced to pick up different forms of communication, but he has done it all with a positive outlook. Being deaf is not a disadvantage to him, it is just how he was born. He wants other people to see this and accept this as well.

Raising a First-Generation Deaf Family

Dennis grew up speaking English with and reading the lips of his hearing family. One could argue that it was an unfair disadvantage for him, but Dennis approached the topic with a grateful mindset, “I had to work really hard to learn to lip read. But knowledge is hard! Now, my kids are more successful” he exclaimed as he reminisced on the impact his learning had on his family now. Dennis married a deaf woman and had three beautiful children with her, two deaf and one hearing. He proudly boasts of how they are a first-generation deaf family, but they are not impaired.

Dennis’ first child, Mia Puent, was born hearing. She learned ASL in order to communicate with her family. Mia is now graduated from college with two degrees and onto a very successful job. His second child, Hannah Puent, was born deaf. She plays college basketball at Gallaudet, which is a deaf and hard of hearing school, and plans to graduate in two years. His third child, Dylan, was also born deaf. He is a junior at the Indiana School for the deaf and basketball star!

Dennis is very proud of his kids and the success they have had and that they will continue to have. The challenges that he overcame and the learning that he accomplished growing up has benefitted him so much in raising his kids to communicate with everyone. “They are very intelligent. They know a lot and they know how to approach hearing people, no matter what” he exclaimed. The growth that came from his obstacles as a child has now assisted his children and their ability to approach the world with a positive and capable outlook. He makes it known that his children’s success is well earned and deserved. Being deaf does not inhibit them. It is not their disability. It is a hearing impairment. It is simply the way that they were born.