WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

We meet 5 deaf young people...

Deaf Teens: Hearing World is a documentary by new director Claire Braden about five deaf teenagers.

This film talks about why not all deaf young people want to be able to hear and sometimes are against being part of the hearing world. It also talks about why some deaf teenagers will do anything to improve their hearing.

Sara and Asher wouldn't choose to hear even if they were given the option to become hearing, they are fully deaf and proud of their Deaf culture. They also don't speak. This makes Sara's first days at university a real challenge, as she feels isolated and worries that her two support workers make her look like she has 'special needs'.

Nineteen-year-old Meghan feels she has hit a brick wall  and desperately wants to hear more. We are there as she goes through a life-changing operation to have a cochlear implant. But the operation has its risks and happens the week before she starts at university - in a fully hearing environment.

Jake and Adam are identical twins, but they are different - Adam is hearing and Jake is profoundly deaf. Adam and Jake have their own way of signing to each other, using one hand. Adam isn't afraid to ask Jake tough questions over whether deaf couples should have deaf children or what jobs deaf people should be allowed to do.

Christianah is going into her final year at her Deaf School where her and her friends have a very sassy attitude to their deafness. It is their last year of living in a safe, deaf environment and they are getting nervous...

The film looks at what it's like to go to a music festival and not hear the music, how hard it can be to keep up with conversations and make friends, but also the joy of silence."

Find out more about the five teenagers on BBC3, Monday 6 February at 9pm. Or scoot over to the iPlayer if you miss it.

This was written by the makers of Deaf Teen: Hearing world.

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