When I was a child, I never saw deafness reflected on television in a way that felt real or ordinary. That absence mattered more than I realised at the time.
I was raised by two deaf parents, and deafness shaped our family life in ways both profound and practical. My parents navigated a world that rarely made space for them, often misunderstood or overlooked. Television, especially children’s TV, was no exception. Deaf people were largely invisible, and when they did appear, it was rarely as full, rounded characters living everyday lives.
Years later, I became a parent myself and one of my children was born profoundly deaf. And, once again, I was struck by the same gap: a lack of representation that could help a child understand who they are…
