Deafness in family relationships: a study on the interactions between mother, child and maternal grandmother

This paper aims to identify the role of the maternal grandmother in the education of grandchildren, in a deafness context. We intend also to understand if the role of the deaf mother as the main educator element, is well defined in this family trio - deaf mother, child and maternal grandmother. So, our main goal was to comprehend the relationship between deaf mother and grandmother and if this relation respects the principles of mutual aid and cooperation. However, we also want to comprehend if this interaction, perhaps, jeopardizes the autonomy of the deaf mother who could be threatened because of the maternal grandmother’s behaviour. The qualitative study had the participation of six deaf mothers and we collected data through interviews in Portuguese sign language. Taking the parameters described, the results reveal that maternal grandmothers actually act like ´educator assistants` in the education of grandchildren. The role of main figure is ensured by deaf mother. It is still evident a change of attitude about the communication in Portuguese sign language by grandmothers, now they are more open-minded in using this language with their grandchildren but this situation did not occur with their daughters.