DISORDERED COMMUNICATION AND GRIEVING IN DEAF MEMBER FAMILIES

When a deaf child is born to hearing parents, a grieving process is in itiated in the parents. Unresolved grieving over their child's deafnes s often makes it difficult for hearing parents to accept the importanc e of signing, thus increasing the child's problems-a further source of grief for these parents. Clinical illustrations are provided of (1) t he reciprocal relationship between disruption of the mourning process and disturbance of communication between family members, and (2) the t ransmission of the dysfunctional relationship between hearing parents and deaf children to the subsequent relationship between the deaf chil dren, when they reach adulthood, and their hearing children.