By Anne McIntosh, PhD

The last Sunday in April is nationally known as Mother Father Deaf Day and will be celebrated April 28, 2024. Several well-known CODAs are “celebrities” in the Deaf community; you may recognize the names Paul Preston, Trudy Schafer, Millie Brother, Brad Klein, MJ Grant, and Sophia Puckett. 

CODAs are hearing children who have one or two deaf parents; these hearing children grow up “deaf on the inside” and “hearing on the outside.” Most likely, their first language was ASL. They typically learn to read at an earlier age from seeing the captions on television. CODAs see the world from their parents’ eyes and see how the world treats their deaf parents. They also see the world as a hearing person. CODAs are very comfortable in the deaf world. They are “members” of the deaf community. Sometimes CODAs continue their involvement in the deaf community outside of their parents working as interpreters or working in education with deaf and hard of hearing children. 

I had the opportunity years ago to interview Dr. Paul Preston who turned his dissertation into a book titled Mother Father Deaf (1994) published by Harvard University Press. Later, Paul and I became regular email pals sharing questions, manuscript drafts, and our love for the deaf community. Paul was a kind and compassionate mentor/colleague as we would often talk about deaf-hearing interactions. He was interested in telling the story of CODAs as a CODA himself, given his anthropology background; I was interested in deaf-hearing marriages, as a professor and researcher of communication studies. My copy of Paul’s Mother Father Deaf is heavily written in, sticky notes everywhere. His ethnographical book served as a model for a manuscript I began writing 25 years ago on deaf-hearing marriages that encapsulates both my dissertation and my experiences in a deaf-hearing marriage. 

Trudy Schafer was impacted by Paul’s book, too and, in 1996, thanks to Trudy Schafer’s efforts, we celebrate Mother Father Deaf Day. In a video promoting the 25th annual celebration of Mother Father Deaf, Millie Brother talked about how she coined the term, “CODA” and mentioned how Trudy Schafer was inspired by Paul Preston’s book Mother Father Deaf to create a national day to recognize the rich heritage of deaf parents. Brad Klein is a stand-up comedian who both voices and signs his comedy acts as he shares colorful stories of what life is like as a hearing person with two deaf parents. CODAs like Brad get a front row seat at how the deaf are perceived in the real world. MJ Grant is well-known for her video updates as she educates others about communication challenges for deaf people like her mother who is diagnosed with dementia in assisted and nursing care facilities. MJ has been courageous in pointing out how communication accessibility is difficult for deaf people who do not have access to caregivers who sign.  

If you have not already, check out the Oscar award-winning movie, CODA (2021) starring Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, Daniel Durant, and Emilia Jones. At Safe’N’Clear, if you have emailed, texted, or called, chances are you have interacted with Sophia Puckett, a CODA. As we celebrate the unique heritage and multicultural identities of hearing individuals who have deaf parents, we dedicate this article in memory of Dr. Paul Michael Preston for creating the framework of Mother Father Deaf. Dr. Preston died September 28, 2023.