Noting that when a deaf child is born to hearing parents, problems arise due to the language barrier, this paper discusses the kinds of disruptions hearing parents experience with the birth of a deaf child, the implications such an impairment has on development and language acquisition, and the adjustments made for such a child. Following an introduction which suggests that a child may have many meanings for parents, the first section of the paper presents the stages of development from birth to one year for normal and deaf children. The second section examines the discovery and diagnosis of deafness in a child, and the stages of mourning--impact, denial, grief, focusing outward, and closure--that parents of deaf children experience. Subsections also examine the impact a deaf child may have on the parents and their ability to communicate with one another, upon grandparents, who often continue to deny the problem, and upon siblings, whose time with and closeness to the parents may be impaired because of increased attention to the deaf child. The final section looks at finding a communicative mode with the deaf child, and suggests that a combination of manual and oral approaches is best in establishing a language system. A conclusion suggests that communication between deaf children and those close to them will dictate how they see themselves individually and as members of society. (One footnote and 65 references are included.) (JC)