CODA: Resilience and Empowerment Among Children of Deaf Parents Symposium

29 Sep 2026

Call for abstracts now open for this international hybrid symposium.

About the Symposium

Approximately 90% of children born to Deaf parents are hearing, commonly known as Codas. While rooted in Deaf culture and fluent in sign language, Codas frequently exist as a “hidden minority”. Their unique struggles with stigma, indirect discrimination, and complex familial dynamics are largely ignored by social work, education, and healthcare professionals. In alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities), this symposium places Codas at the centre of inquiry. It provides a vital platform to share lived experiences, explore dual identities, and highlight intrinsic agency, community resilience, and empowerment.

• Date: Friday, 27 November 2026
• Host: University College Cork (UCC), Ireland
• Venue: Aula Maxima, UCC (and Online via Synchronous Hybrid Format)
• Funder: Research Ireland (under the SFI-IRC Pathway Programme)
• Organiser: Dr Noel O’Connell

Key Themes

We invite proposals for individual presentations addressing one or more of the following core themes:

1. Children of Deaf Adults: Stories and Storytelling
• Evidence-based methodologies exploring how sharing stories helps make sense of the Coda world.
2. Indirect Stigma from the Coda Perspective
• Case studies on negotiating indirect stigma, courtesy stigma, and unique social challenges across the lifespan.
3. Community Resilience, Agency, and Empowerment
• The role of Deaf parents, shared cultural values, collective belonging, and social networks in developing resilience.

Submission Guidelines

We are seeking submissions for 8 individual presentations to fill the afternoon parallel sessions. We welcome proposals from academics, researchers, postgraduate students, practitioner-researchers, and Coda community advocates.

• Abstract Length: Maximum 250–300 words.
• Keywords: Include 3–5 keywords.
• Biography: A short author biography (maximum 100 words).
• Format: Submissions must specify whether the presenter intends to attend in-person or virtually.

Key Dates

• Submission Deadline: Friday, 9 October 2026.
• Review Period: 12–23 October 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: Monday, 26 October 2026 
• Symposium Date: Friday, 27 November 2026

How to Submit

Please use Oxford Abstracts to send your submission.

Abstract Submission Link: 

https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/83620/submitter

Event Registration Link:

https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/register/event/78348?preview=true&landing_preview=true

For more on this story contact:

For any inquiries regarding the submission process, please contact the organizing team.

Dr Noel O’Connell (email: noconnell@ucc.ie)

Professor Deirdre Horgan (email: d.horgan@ucc.ie)

Dr Gill Harold (email: g.harold@ucc.ie)