Lived Experience
Real lives. Real experiences. Deeper understanding.
Lived Experience sits at the heart of WovenAware.
It centres real lives – identity, family, relationships, and the everyday experiences that shape how people understand themselves and the world around them. These lived experiences bring awareness beyond theory, offering insight grounded in connection and personal meaning.
Lived experience gives awareness its human depth.
Why Lived Experience Matters
Understanding systems and ideas is important, but awareness becomes meaningful when it is connected to real experience.
Lived experience reveals:
how communication shapes connection
how identity develops through experience
how families navigate different environments
how belonging is formed
how everyday moments influence understanding
These experiences provide deeper insight into access, identity, and human connection.
Exploring Lived Experience
Lived Experience brings together four interconnected areas of reflection and lived understanding.
Together, these reflections explore different aspects of lived experience – family, identity, memory, and personal journeys.
These experiences are explored through four interconnected areas within WovenAware.
Deaf Parenting
Family life, communication, and identity within a Deaf-led household.
Exploring the realities of raising children, navigating systems, and understanding family experience.
CODA
Identity and belonging across Deaf and hearing worlds.
Reflecting on the experiences of growing up within Deaf families and navigating different communication environments.
Personal Anchor
Moments, meaning, and identity.
Exploring the experiences that shape who we are and the personal meaning woven through life – expressed through reflective narratives.
Tattoo Stories
Stories written in ink.
Exploring the meaning behind tattoos that mark moments of growth, healing, identity, and personal history.
A Space for Understanding
Lived Experience is not about explanation alone.
It is about listening, recognising, and understanding.
By sharing real experiences, this space supports deeper awareness of identity, connection, and the realities of everyday life.
Through lived experience, understanding grows.
A Deaf-Led Perspective
Lived Experience is grounded in Deaf identity, family life, and personal reflection. It reflects the diversity of experience within Deaf-led environments while encouraging broader understanding across communities.
You are invited to explore these experiences, reflect on their meaning, and recognise the role lived experience plays in shaping awareness and understanding.