Dee’s CODA Stories: The Deaf Parents

Dee’s Stories: The Deaf Parents https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je78Gl_vo-w

My name is Diksha and I am many things: I am a woman, I am British Indian, I am a daughter, I am a sister, I am a friend, I am a teacher and I am a CODA. Being a Child of Deaf Adults is one of the biggest parts of me and has largely shaped who I am today. Growing up, my sisters and I faced some challenges when navigating through daily life- especially when it came to interpreting important messages to our parents when we were just children ourselves.

It has always been a passion of mine to write, as I feel I can often express myself better in written form than I can verbally.

I began writing blogs when I was at university, one of which was dedicated to my deaf parents.

You can read it here:

https://thinkingoutloudwithdiksha.wordpress.com/2016/10/21/deaf-but-not-dumb/

As I entered the teaching profession, it dawned on me that there are so many young people who have difficult backgrounds and experiences themselves and I felt like they just don’t get many chances to talk about it or see these experiences represented anywhere. That’s when I decided to write my own experiences in a child-friendly way, with the hope that my own stories could encourage young people to share their own experiences and feel comfortable enough to discuss the impact on them.

I have published three books, in a series called Dee’s Stories. While The Accident and The Big C discuss other events of my life, The Deaf Parents captures what being a CODA could be like from a young child’s perspective. You can see the trailer in the video below and you can also buy your own copies online here (and from other retailers like Amazon, or contact me directly!):

https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/dees-stories-deaf-parents

It is so important to me that we CODAs stick together. I am so grateful to be able to share these experiences with my sisters, family friends and now hopefully- the rest of the world!