Charlie Swinbourne: 5 things Oscar-winning The Silent Child shows us about deaf children’s lives

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The Silent Child can be seen on Google Play, accessible either by the app or through the desktop site, currently for £1.49, and will also be shown on Good Friday, 30th March, on BBC1 at 7.40pm.

The Silent Child’s spectacular victory in the Short Film category at the Oscars has shone a light on the problems facing deaf children.

As writer and star Rachel Shenton said after receiving the award, a big part of the inspiration for making the film was the fact that “millions of [deaf] children all over the world live in silence and face communication barriers, and particularly access to education.”

The Silent Child is a pro-BSL film, which has a strong message. Deaf people I’ve talked to see it as reflecting their own experiences, while many non-deaf people say that it illustrates issues they had not thought about or experienced before.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you can see it on Google Play or at an upcoming screening (see the Facebook page here).

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Here are five things I picked out in the film, which illustrate some of the issues deaf children face (warning – spoilers!)

1.Parents often assume deaf children hear better than they really do

The mother in the film says several times that her daughter Libby “follows things really well,” when it’s clear to us viewers that she is in a world of her own.

Some people just can’t spot when a deaf child hasn’t truly heard something – and often, a child nodding in agreement, following visual cues or moving with the crowd can wrongly be seen as them understanding what’s going on.

2. Deaf children can find themselves distant from their own families

There’s several dinner table scenes in the film which (much like the play Tribes) make it clear how left out Libby is, seeing her family talk and engage in front of her, but not able to access what was going on.

This is a heartbreaking element of deafness, how deaf children can be so near and yet so far from those they should be closest to, simply for lack of language.

3. Sign language can make a big difference

The film shows the social worker (played by Shenton) teaching Libby sign language, and how Libby seems to ‘wake up’ as a result, going from being passive to smiling and interacting.

As Shenton’s social worker says of BSL: “the basics are easy to learn,” and the film shows the transformative effect that using a clear visual (and wonderful, and beautiful) language can have on a deaf child.

4. But parents can be resistant to using BSL

Sadly, the film reflects reality in showing that Libby’s parents are resistant to learning and using BSL, even though they themselves have identified that she’s lacking in confidence and is quiet.

The film suggests several reasons for their reluctance to learn sign.

Near the start, Libby’s mother indicates that the family are too busy to learn, then later on, she hints that she doesn’t feel enough people use sign language to make it worthwhile.

There’s also a sense that Libby’s parents feel sign language is beneath them, even when, in a key scene, one family member spots Libby using a sign. Instead of picking up on it, they change the subject.

But there’s one particular shot, of Libby’s mother feeling distant from her daughter while she signs in the garden, that really resonated with me. It reflects a fear of the parent being the one feeling left out. Sadly, rather than learn the language, some parents decide the child shouldn’t be exposed to sign at all.

As the film’s ending shows, her parents’ reluctance to embrace BSL – something many deaf people complain about regarding their parents – leaves Libby isolated and facing life in a kind of prison.

5. Too many people assume all deaf children’s needs are all the same

There’s a line near the end when Libby’s mother says to the social worker that the school headmaster has said Libby doesn’t need extra support in the classroom, because “they had a deaf boy before and he was fine.”

This single line reflects one of the most frustrating elements of life as a deaf person – when people assume because they’ve met one deaf person, that the same rules apply to a deaf person they meet in the future.

The fact is that all deaf children are different, their level of hearing, confidence, communication needs and so on. What works for one may not work for another.

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These are just a few of the things that stood out to me, tell us what you thought of the film and its message below.

Well done once again to the team behind the film on their stunning award, and make sure you see it soon!

Charlie Swinbourne is a journalist and is the editor of Limping Chicken, and is also an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter. Charlie has just set up his own media production company, Eyewitness Media. Both episodes of his new sketch comedy in BSL, Deaf Funny, can be seen on the BSL Zone website, and his recent film for deaf charity SignHealth can be seen here.