CODA Gathering February 2026

In the first week of February, seven CODAs gathered in Kansas City, Missouri. What does CODA mean? CODA stands for “Children of Deaf Adult(s).” These are individuals who can hear and speak, known as hearing children who grow up with Deaf parent(s).

CODAs grow up in many different kinds of homes. Some have Deaf parents who were raised in spoken English only environments. Some grew up with Total Communication (using speech and signs at the same time). Others grew up in fully immersed Deaf culture with Deaf clubs and full sign language environments (i.e., Deaf schools events, sports, etc).

The seven CODAs who came together also came from different generations. Some remember when the first TTY (text telephone) was invented. Others grew up later as technology continued to change. Some started to assume the role of sign language interpreters when they were children, early as age four. Some started through vocational experience as interpreters. Some have never taken the role of facilitating both languages. Each person brought stories, memories, and deep life experiences.

At Deaf Kids Connect, we believe the heart of our work is making disciples, and those disciple-makers are parents. Parents are the first leaders in a child’s life. They guide, teach, love, and shape their children. Our work begins by listening, learning, and walking alongside people as they share their real stories, their real lived experiences.

This gathering was made possible with the help of Samantha Roe, Sign Language Interpreter/Operational Manager at Sonshine Interpreting and Jonathan Waterhouse, Sign Language Interpreter/Deaf Catalyst Team at Converge International. We want to thank Jonathan Bucklew, Chief Development at Pioneer Bible Translators for helping with transportation when Tanya Polstra, CEO of Deaf KIds Connect learned that her flight was cancelled and was rebooked to a different flight and was the last one to arrive. She wasn’t able to arrange transportation as originally planned. We also want to thank Northland Deaf Church for allowing us to use their space so we could close the doors, feel safe, and share our stories together.

Tanya Shares Her Perspective

During our time together, Tanya Polstra shared something very personal. Tanya is a Deaf mother of three children. Her oldest son is unilateral. He lives in both the Deaf and hearing worlds and is learning to understand his identity in two cultures that have different etiquette and social norms. Her second child is a CODA, and her youngest daughter is profoundly Deaf.

Tanya shared her deep story, the moment when she first realized her CODA son was different. He was only four years old. She began to see the journey that many CODA children walk and how the world doesn’t understand them, and that includes the Deaf and Hearing worlds.

She shared honestly, “I thought I lost him to the hearing people that day, and that hurt the most because I am his mom and I don’t speak English. He will always come home to a fully ASL environment where classifiers, handshapes, mouth morphemes, and ASL syntax are used in rich ways, along with Deaf cultural norms. This will be part of his life even when he turns 18 and spreads his wings.”

But when my son showed me the next morning that he will always love the language and culture he was born into and will carry Deaf culture and sign language with him wherever he goes, I realized I had to let him be different. I needed to understand who he is as a CODA. He is not Deaf, and he is not hearing either.

I need CODA adults to help me and teach me how to nurture him for the Great Commission God has called him to. It may take him anywhere, but I know I have a sacred responsibility to do as his mother. I must guide him, love him, and direct him where to go, following the wisdom of Scripture. He is my son, a special person God trusted me to raise and guide.

But what does it take to nurture a child when the world does not understand who they are? Every culture has its own etiquette for how people communicate and show respect, this includes Deaf and hearing cultures. CODAs go through this every day as they switch between cultures. How can I, as a mom, embrace his journey? That’s when I realized Deaf parents may not be sure either.

Tanya also shared how God used her CODA son to open her eyes. Through him, she began to understand the journey of hearing parents in a new way. She said, “I thought I knew so much about this and that. I was wrong.” That experience helped her grow in humility, sacrifice, and understanding.

For the first time, Tanya explained why she feels the need to call builders (CODA) to build a blueprint roadmap – a program for our CODAs and to equip Deaf parents. Deaf parents are raising children who experience the world differently. Many CODAs live between two cultures, the Deaf world and the hearing world. Because of this, CODAs need a place where they are seen and accepted. They need a place where their stories are understood and where they know they have a place in God’s Kingdom.

Our time together felt deeply sacred. We sat together, listened carefully, and respected every story that was shared. Some stories were joyful. Others carried deep emotion. Each story helped us see the real needs of CODAs and their families.

Why This Gathering Matters

The heart of this organization is to build strong ASL communities where Deaf people, CODAs, parents, and hearing people can come together in unity. We want to be on the same team, learning from each other and serving together. This reflects Jesus’ prayer in John 17 that His people would be one.

The requirement of this gathering was simple but powerful: to sit down and listen. By listening to their stories, we can begin to understand what kind of blueprint foundation needs to be built. We want a program that helps CODAs grow in identity, faith, and belonging, and also helps Deaf parents raise their children with awareness, confidence, and support.

This gathering was only the beginning. We look forward to our next gathering where we will dig deeper with the key questions and talk about what this program should look like for CODAs in Christ-centered settings.

How You Can Be Part of This Work

We ask you to pray about considering being part of this work. You can help by one or more of the following:

1. Donating $25 to support our next gathering (TBD in the Fall 2026)
   • Write ‘CODA Gathering’ in the note when you donate
2. Offering a meeting space at no cost

For more sponsorship opportunities or questions, please contact our office at our email: adminteam@deafkidsconnect.com

Together, we make Jesus’ love our aim,

Executive Director of Deaf Kids Connect