This week, Signature share more about Karen Hardwicke, a Teacher of the Deaf and author, who shares her journey as the mother of her Deaf son, highlighting how learning British Sign Language (BSL) transformed their communication and lives. Her “Jack Signs!” series, inspired by personal experiences, authentically represents the joys and challenges of raising a deaf child while promoting inclusive representation.
- Hi Karen, can you tell our Signature followers, a bit more about yourself.
Hi, I’m Karen Hardwicke! I am the parent of a deaf son and two typically hearing children. I have worked as a Teacher of the Deaf for 15 years. I am the author of 5 (soon to be 7) books for deaf and typically hearing children. I live in Lincolnshire with my husband and wayward chocolate Labrador, Rosie.
- How did you feel when you found out your son was deaf and how did learning BSL help with this change?
Such a mass of feelings! I was in shock following my son’s diagnosis and grieved for the future I ‘thought’ was in store. I felt guilty that I hadn’t picked up his deafness (this was prior to the days of newborn screening). I was a single parent at the time and wasn’t sure how I would cope, and quite often had days when I didn’t cope. I had no experience of deafness other than my nan who was losing her hearing. I thought that my son’s severe/profound deafness could be corrected with hearing aids and did not understand the impact it would have on communication and language acquisition. All of the advice we were given in those early days following diagnosis followed the oral philosophy; ‘Just speak, all of the time, and spoken language will happen’. But a year down the line and my son did not learn to speak. He had multiple tantrums every day because he was so frustrated. My mum played a pivotal part in our decision to learn to sign and she gave me my first BSL dictionary. Thank you Mum for steering us in this direction.
From that very first day when we introduced the first sign, (car), EVERYTHING changed. BSL gave us a lifetime: a means of sharing likes/dislikes, thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
- What inspired you to start creating stories with deaf characters in and how was this process?
The experience above was so pivotal and life-changing that it inspired my first story, ‘Jack Signs’.
Initially, I had found a diary from those days that recorded the enormous guilt and frustration I went through as a parent:
Jack has tantrums several times a day. I try to ignore them and sometimes put him on the “naughty step” but then feel worse.
- December 1997
Extracts such as this was woven into the story and depicted our journey into sign language as a single parent family of 3. It concludes with the extract:
Now Jack has around 100 signs and he has started to build sentences:
“Tomorrow, Baba (Mummy) Ca Ca (Caitlin) Gack (Jack!) toy shop.”
“Tomorrow, when Baba Ca Ca Gack wake up –bic bics” 4. April 1999
Which of course, was the end of the story but only the beginning of our journey.
Other stories… The ‘Jack Signs’ series was inspired by my experience as a parent and remains the book closest to my heart. Around 2014, I also began to write other stories that were something of a reaction to the books available at that time, which I felt were too ‘worthy’ and tokenistic. I wanted to draw deaf characters who are fun and bright and aspirational but again were based on the personal experience of parenting a deaf child… I wrote for my own entertainment and because, possibly because it was cathartic. Fast forward 7 years, serendipity struck in a chance online meeting with my lovely publisher, Tanya Saunders. Tanya is also the parent of a deaf child and founder member of AVID Language, which publishes the largest collection of books for deaf children and their parents and is changing the literary landscape.
Representation is everything and at Avid Language, we strive to produce books that parents and teachers want to share with their children. Books that raise awareness, that resonate with human experience, books in which deaf children see themselves.
- What advice would you give to parents who are new to navigating life with a child who is deaf or hard of hearing?
You can’t change the fact that your child is deaf but try to channel your energy into the positive things CAN change. I kind of made it my life mission! I met like-minded parents, and we set up a weekly group for deaf children that aimed to develop their communication skills. Professor Joy Jarvis allowed me to study the theory modules of the Teacher of the Deaf course so that I could learn everything possible about deaf education. But most importantly of all, we learned sign language. Be open to this. It may change the lives of your child and yours as parents.
- In your view, what are the most important messages that society needs to understand about children who are deaf, and how can we work towards greater inclusion?
Society needs to understand, in my opinion, that being in a mainstream setting does not necessarily signify academic or social inclusion for the deaf child or young person. Being fitted with listening devices may give access to sound but may not support comprehension of speech. We can work towards greater inclusion by promoting Deaf Awareness in schools and the introduction of BSL as a GCSE subject.
- Here at Signature, we are incredibly excited about the prospect of a BSL GCSE. How important would a qualification like this be for both deaf and hearing students?
Society is gaining a much greater awareness of BSL and Deaf Awareness generally with public figures such as Rose Ayling Ellis and Tasha Ghouri. The introduction of BSL at GCSE level further brings sign language into the mainstream consciousness. I cannot put into words how important this is for deaf and hearing students, but I feel grateful to witness it happening.
- Outside of writing, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I love going to the theatre and concerts with my husband. I read. I try to train wayward Labrador, Rosie, to walk nicely on the lead. As a teacher, I loved music and drama and delivering Author Visits to schools and gives me a chance to tap into those skills!
- Do you have any future projects or aspirations that you are working on that you would like to share with Signature?
Right now, Tanya Saunders and I working on 2 further books: the next in the ‘Jack Signs!’ series: ‘Jack Signs at the Seaside!” with marvellous illustrator Manny Walker. And another: ‘Go for a Sound Walk!” with wonderful illustrator Lucy Rogers. We are also working on teacher/parent Early Years resources that link to the books, including a ‘Jack Signs!’ and ‘Ling Ling Bird’ song books!
An aspiration would be to encourage EVERY UK Early Years setting to learn some sign language, perhaps using the character of Jack from ‘Jack Signs!’ as a figurehead for a campaign! We know that BSL is being introduced at GCSE level, but this should and will filter down to early years. I would love to be part of the movement that is growing daily in momentum.
Here at Signature we would like to thank Karen for sharing more about her personal relation to her Jack Signs Series. We look forward to the release of further books in her collection and wish her the best in this.
To purchase one of Karen’s books, follow the link by clicking here
