麻豆社

By Stella Radeva // 麻豆社 The Social contributor // 02 May 2022

For Luke McMillan and his two siblings, signing was the very first language they learned. That’s because 19-year-old Luke is a CODA (child of deaf adult), and he’s had the unique experience of growing up in two worlds, the hearing and the deaf.

For Luke, communicating through both speaking and signing is something that is now second nature, and he doesn’t even notice his family’s deafness.

"Obviously at home, I'm signing all the time. So when I see my friends, sometimes I will sign to them by accident, but we just laugh it off," says Luke.

Luke was brought up in Livingston, and his family faced taunting and discrimination due to their deafness.

He describes how people used to chap on their door, harass the family, and bully Luke and his siblings for using sign language. Fortunately, things improved when they moved to South Queensferry. There, Luke’s high school classmates were more interested in learning sign language than making fun of him.

“I taught one of my school friends some sign language, so when he was at the other side of the room, I would sign a little bit to him, and he’d know what I was saying. The teacher never noticed,” he laughs.

Luke feels lucky to be a part of both the hearing and deaf worlds - “I get to see two different ways of life,” he says. “I take from them both the best skills and the best ways to communicate, and it makes me grow as a person.”

“I’m more aware of isolated groups because I see it everyday. And generally, I’m more open in conversation because I was brought up to be confident and not to be ashamed of who I am.”

Luke explains that chatting with deaf people differs from speaking to hearing people, in that deaf people are more aware of conversational mannerisms. They don't interrupt each other and use expressive hand gestures along with facial expressions.

"When people are upset, it's easier to tell. It makes things more enjoyable and conversations more interesting," he explains.

Luke is also interested in acting, and he considers being part of both worlds an advantage, as he practices the scripts with his siblings and his facial expressions with his mum.

Despite having Luke on hand to act as a translator, sometimes people are still nervous to meet his family due to the communication barrier.

"My family are really welcoming anyway," says Luke. "It's a little different when I see other families and friends because we can communicate easily. But generally, I'm just there. I interpret and help with the conversation, and it works really nicely."

There are some occasions when connecting the hearing and deaf worlds is particularly difficult, such as parties.

Luke explains: "It's always like a split table, hearing side, deaf side, which isn't fair, but that's just the way people feel because they don't want to be sat next to someone they can't communicate with."

Out in the wider world, access to sign language interpreters is not guaranteed, and sometimes Luke finds it hard when he is expected to sign delicate situations.

“When my grandad passed away, I had to do the interpreting for the doctor,” he explains. “Instead of being able to sit and listen to what the doctor was saying, I had to pass on the information, so I never really got to process it.”

Despite being proud of his skills, Luke doesn't want to be seen as important. Instead, he wants people to understand that deaf people are independent.

"Everyone thinks that CODAs are always there for the parents and need to do everything for them, but that's not really true" he says.

Looking ahead, Luke hopes that sign language will be used more widely in the hearing community to prevent isolation for the hearing impaired.

"Now, in 2022, we're becoming more aware of supporting people from different communities, but it feels like deaf people have been left behind, and they just want the same” explains Luke.

“Deaf people just want to feel accepted in their everyday life."