Research for potential idea

We came up with a potential idea for our short film which involves a young teenage boy who is deaf mute. Before being able to come up with a storyline or a detailed character analysis I thought that I should do some research into the trials and tribulations of being a deaf mute.

I found this extract from a book called the deaf and dumb world about Frederick Painter. The 1861 census tells us he was a fishmonger, born in London, but by the 1871 census he was an “itinerant vendor of cockles, oysters etc”, aged 49 living with  Mary Ann Harris, also “Deaf and Dumb from birth”, birthplace unknown.  By the 1881 census he was clearly on a downward spiral as he has no job listed.  A sad story of someone who deserved to get a fair chance.

I found this interesting as I wanted to challenge the stereotype of someone with the disability living a sad life.