survival of deaf childhood in a society centered in the oral language: the covid-19 case and the viralization of libras

Abstract

Studies point out challenges for the acquisition of the Brazilian sign language (Libras) by deaf children. Most deaf people are children of hearing parents who do not know Libras and the first contact with this language can occur only in the school environment. With the situation of social isolation and the impossibility of opening schools due to the "New Coronavirus" pandemic, these problems have worsened. The project called #CasaLibras of virtual attention in Libras for deaf children aimed to produce videos with children's storytelling directly in Libras. The actions are justified as a way of informing, entertaining, as well as, stimulating the contact of this language by deaf children in their homes. This article intends to analyze this political scenario, problematizing: 1) the philosophical-social conceptions about deafness, 2) the struggle for deaf survival, given the lack of public, social and educational policies, in a necropolitics that is affirmed in the production of death (symbolic and real for the deaf, due to the guidelines for the adaptation of deaf bodies to the oral language and the lack of information, exposing them to the risk) of deaf differences; and, finally, 3) the analysis of the results of the #CasaLibras project aimed at deaf children. The data suggest a widespread use of the media and some viralization of Libras, in the pandemic, through the action of the people. It highlights the positivity of the project in promoting accessibility for deaf children and the urgency of expanding inclusive bilingual policies that strengthen the singularities of these lives, leaving them less vulnerable, physically and symbolically.