ABSTRACT
Through the lens of experiences of children and adults who are deaf, this chapter examines the importance of discourse and narrative for the child who is deaf and the impact of deafness on shared narrative and the development of the child. Each person has a unique life history or personal narrative. Telling and retelling the stories of our lives helps us become aware of the significance of our experiences. Storytelling is meaningful and cen-tral to our lives not only because it allows us to explain our experiences and actions, but also because we are able to change the meaning of our experiences when we tell the story (Widdershoven, 1993).
