When Silence Speaks: Culture, Identity and Belonging 

As families move beyond diagnosis, information, and early decisions, a deeper set of questions often begins to surface. Questions not just about hearing, but about identity.

Who is my child becoming?
Where do they belong?
How do we honour all parts of who they are?

Chapter 6 of When Silence Speaks: The Hearing Together Series, Volume 1 turns toward these reflections. It explores culture, identity, and belonging, not as fixed destinations, but as experiences that grow and shift over time.

While working on this chapter, I listened to parents describe how they gradually became aware that hearing loss was not only a medical or educational journey, but also a cultural and emotional one. Many found themselves learning about Deaf culture, hearing culture, and the meaningful space in between where their family lived day to day.

Parents spoke openly about the responsibility they felt. The responsibility to listen. To learn. To avoid assumptions. And most importantly, to allow their children the freedom to explore identity in ways that felt authentic to them.

What stood out was how often parents resisted the idea of choosing one world over another. Instead, they described creating environments where children could experience community, language, and belonging without pressure. Belonging was not treated as something to be assigned, but something to be nurtured.

Working on this chapter alongside Dr. Vie reinforced how deeply personal identity development can be. Families shared that identity did not emerge through labels, but through relationships. Through representation. Through seeing children reflected positively in the people and communities around them.

Some parents spoke about moments when their children began to express pride. Pride in how they communicated. Pride in who they were. Others described periods of questioning, exploration, and change. All of these experiences were held without judgment in this chapter.

As a cochlear implant user, reading these stories reminded me that identity is not a single choice made once. It is shaped through time, trust, and acceptance. Children grow when they feel safe to ask questions about themselves, and when the adults around them are willing to learn alongside them.

Chapter 6 does not attempt to define belonging. Instead, it honours the many ways families build it. Through culture. Through language. Through community. Through love that adapts as children grow.

This chapter is an invitation to pause and reflect. To recognise that identity is not something to solve, but something to support. And that when children feel respected and understood, they are more likely to grow into a sense of belonging that feels strong, flexible, and deeply their own.

These are the conversations When Silence Speaks was created to hold.
Not to decide identity for families, but to make space for it to unfold.