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Abstract
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Aims: Deaf culture can be defined as ways of seeing the world, behaving, and communicating that are typically Deaf. The hearing children of Deaf adults belong to two different cultural worlds: the Deaf culture transmitted by their parents and the culture of their outside environment. Children of migrants also belong to two different cultural worlds: that of their parents and that of the host country. For them, these sets of cultural values can conflict and lead to negative reactions to school, such as anxiety-based school refusal. Do hearing children of Deaf adults have the same vulnerability?
Methods: This article reports a case of anxiety-based school refusal in a child of Deaf adults, treated with transcultural clinical techniques. At the start of his treatment, Ludwig was 16 years old and had been disconnected from school for a year and was withdrawn at home. Family relationships were very conflictual, and there was very little communication.
Results: Sessions with the psychiatrist, Ludwig, his mother, and a sign-language interpreter improved the therapeutic alliance and led to a better attuned mother-son relationship. We discussed Ludwig's history, his mother's history, their languages, discrimination, and Ludwig's difficulties in combining or mixing his cultures. This support allowed him to open up to the outside world and return to an educational program.
Conclusion: Ludwig's treatment illustrates the specific needs of children of Deaf adults and the impact of discrimination. The transcultural approach enriched our clinical reading and inspired us to adjust our treatment propositions.
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