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.

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