Not every important figure in the Deaf community story is Deaf. CODAs, hearing children of Deaf parents, occupy a unique position: fluent in both spoken and signed language from childhood, and deeply connected to Deaf culture without necessarily being Deaf themselves.
A Bigger Community Than You Might Expect
Here’s a statistic that surprises a lot of people: roughly 90 percent of children born to Deaf parents are hearing, not Deaf. That means the global CODA community is, by sheer numbers, enormous, spanning countries and generations, all sharing a common experience of growing up bilingual and bicultural, moving fluidly between the Deaf and hearing worlds their parents and their own daily lives each represent.
An Organization Built Specifically for Them
In 1983, Millie Brother founded CODA (Children of Deaf Adults) as a nonprofit organization dedicated specifically to hearing children of Deaf parents. More than four decades later, the organization, now known as CODA International, continues supporting that community through annual conferences, scholarships, and regional retreats, alongside dedicated programming for Kodas, CODAs under 18, and support resources for Deaf parents raising hearing children.
This year’s flagship event, the 2026 CODAshire Conference, built its entire program around a “back to basics” theme, centering on rest, connection, relationships, and routine, values organizers describe as core to what CODAs need most from a community built around a shared, often complicated, bicultural upbringing.
A Unique Kind of Bilingual Childhood
Researchers have drawn a meaningful comparison between the CODA experience and that of children of immigrant families: just as first-generation immigrant parents often come to rely on their more linguistically fluent children to navigate the surrounding culture, Deaf parents may similarly depend on their hearing children’s fluency in the hearing world’s spoken language. That dynamic shapes a distinctly bicultural identity, one where CODAs often identify meaningfully with both Deaf and hearing culture simultaneously, rather than feeling fully at home in just one.
Notable CODAs You Might Not Know About
The CODA community includes some genuinely notable figures. Several US presidents, along with numerous artists, performers, and public figures, grew up as CODAs themselves, having been raised by Deaf parents. It’s a reminder that CODA identity isn’t a niche experience limited to the margins of Deaf culture, it’s woven directly into families and communities across the wider world.
Why This Community Matters
CODAs often serve as an early, informal bridge between Deaf and hearing communities long before any formal interpreting training or advocacy role comes into play. Organizations like CODA International exist because that bridging role, while valuable, can also come with real emotional complexity, and having a dedicated community that understands that specific experience firsthand makes a meaningful difference.
The Takeaway
CODAs remind us that Deaf culture’s reach extends well beyond Deaf people themselves. It shapes families, childhoods, and identities in the hearing community too, and organizations like CODA International exist to make sure that unique experience has the recognition and support it deserves.
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