Mental Health in Kids of Deaf Adults
- gphscholars
- Jul 23
- 1 min read
Presenter: Sonia Owens, Neurobiology and Physiology , Global Public Health Scholars
For my practicum, I worked as a camp counselor and Arts & Crafts Department Head at an overnight KODA (Kids of Deaf Adults) camp at Camp Mark Seven in Old Forge, New York. In this role, I led, planned, and facilitated activities, as well as fostered connections with campers over the five weeks. By using the connections I had created and built with campers, I was able to make observations and ask questions during our KODA talks (discussions about positive and negative experiences that come with being a KODA). From these observations, I made inferences about how being a KODA can affect our mental health because of the stigma surrounding the deaf community, being forced to mature faster than our peers, and possible distancing from parent(s) because of worries of embarrassment and not fitting in. I learned that being a KODA affects everyone differently; some have only had extremely positive experiences, some only negative, and some a mix of both.
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