SUPPORT FOR MINORITY TEENS WITH DISABILITIES: CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE APPROACHES TO TRANSITION

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SUPPORT FOR MINORITY TEENS WITH DISABILITIES
CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE APPROACHES TO TRANSITION

• Eleanor Gil-Kashiwabara, Psy.D.
• Oregon Health and Science University-Center on
  Self-Determination
• Portland, OR

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THE DOUBLE WHAMMY

• Minority youth with disabilities or special
  health care needs (SHCN) encounter many barriers
  in their transition to adulthood.
• As a person with a disability, youth with SHCN
  and their families encounter barriers such as
  lack of knowledge about their rights and school
  procedures/policies lack of transportation and
  child care difficulty getting accommodations and
  support rigid or limited options for their
  involvement in educational planning and loss of
  hope and fatigue associated with repeatedly
  coming up against these barriers.
• Youth and families from diverse cultures
  encounter additional barriers such as racism,
  discrimination, insensitivity, language barriers
  and cultural unresponsiveness.

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THE COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS PROJECT

• The Community Solutions Projects goal was to
  assist minority (African America, Hispanic and
  Native American) teenagers with disabilities or
  SHCN to stay in school, go to college, get jobs,
  stay healthy, and be successful after graduation.
  
• As part of this goal, the Community Solutions
  Project was committed to developing culturally
  responsive support strategies by working in
  partnership with youth, families, community
  organizations, employers, and other agencies.
• Based on the results of a survey and focus groups
  conducted at the beginning of the Project, four
  areas were identified as areas of focus for the
  project. These areas were youth leadership,
  family support, systems development, and
  interdisciplinary training.

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CRITICAL ELEMENTS IN SUPPORTING CULTURALLY
DIVERSE YOUNG PEOPLE

• Seven Strategies for Successful Transition for
  Youth with Disabilities or Special Health Care
  Needs

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1 BUILD RELATIONSHIP AND TRUST

• Challenge or Barrier
• Minority youth and their families
  may not feel comfortable or are reluctant to
  trust a professional who is seen as outside the
  community.

• Strategy
• Time must be spent simply getting to know the
  family.
• Involve minority professionals who know about
  the best ways to assist youth and their families
  and know what will make them respond.

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2 RESPOND TO A STATED NEED

• Challenge or Barrier
• Youth and family often face immediate stress
  (e.g. homelessness, poverty, domestic violence,
  etc) which makes it difficult to see beyond the
  present and start planning for the future.

• Strategy
• In establishing trust, it is helpful to
  respond to a need stated by the family,
  regardless of whether it relates directly to your
  goals.

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3 ENCOURAGE AND HELP YOUTH TO IDENTIFY AND PLAN
FOR GOALS

• Challenge or Barrier
• Many youth may be unable to identify their
  goals for the future because they do not see
  themselves as having options or opportunities
  that would offer a different lifestyle.

• Strategy
• Youth need to be encouraged to think about and
  start moving toward their transition goals, or it
  is likely they will remain in the same cycle of
  poverty and hopelessness.

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4 STIMULATE YOUTH HOPE

• Challenge or Barrier
• Youth may be exposed to a limited variety of
  real life opportunities and experiences or may
  feel their dreams or goals are not reachable.
  They may feel inclined to settle on what is
  familiar and stop trying.

• Strategy
• Offer opportunities to learn about different
  options.
• Distant or large goals must be broken down
  into smaller goals, which are more immediately
  obtainable and reinforcing to the youth.

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5 HELP YOUTH BUILD THEIR CAPACITIES TO BE
EFFECTIVE AND SELF-DETERMINED

• Challenge or Barrier
• Many youth do not have the skills necessary to
  effectively plan and obtain their transition
  goals, and brief, crisis-centered interventions
  offer only limited support in this area.

• Strategy
• Help the youth develop skills such as positive
  communication, assertiveness, negotiation,
  self-regulation and problem solving so they can
  approach those people who can help them succeed.

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6 PROVIDE ONGOING SUPPORT AND FOLLOW-UP

• Challenge or Barrier
• Youth who have identified a goal may not
  follow through on their plans because of fear,
  lack of know-how or limited family/professional
  support necessary to achieve their goals.

• Strategy
• Ongoing support, frequent check-in, and
  follow-up is needed so the youth does not give up
  when obstacles arise.

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7 PROVIDE ADVOCACY

• Challenge or Barrier
• For a variety of reasons, (e.g. past negative
  experiences, powerlessness, reluctance to
  challenge authority) youth and families may be
  reluctant to advocate for themselves within
  systems or when accessing services.

• Strategy
• Professionals may need to fill the role of
  advocate on behalf of families. It is also
  important to support families in such a way that
  they can ultimately advocate for themselves.

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STRIKE A BALANCE

• We also identified four different dimensions upon
  which professionals need to carefully evaluate
  their behavior to assure that they have a balance
  in their approach that truly supports the youth
  and families with whom they work.

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LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT

• OVERLY-DISTANCED
• Limited contact or not knowing the youths
  needs

• OVERLY-INVOLVED
• Too personally involved in youths life

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SELF-DETERMINATION

• OVER-PROTECTION
• Doing everything for youth, especially in goal
  setting

• ABANDONMENT
• Expecting youth to do everything for self

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UNDERSTANDING ROLE OF POVERTY

• EXCUSING THE FAMILY
• Accepting helplessness in situations that
  affect family seeing them as incapable of
  managing

• BLAMING THE FAMILY
• Believing that the family has brought
  everything upon themselves by their actions or
  behaviors

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UNDERSTANDING ROLE OF FAMILY

• ATTEND ONLY TO FAMILY
• Expecting parent or guardian and family to be
  involved in all decisions

• ATTEND ONLY TO YOUTH
• Only working with youth to determine their
  needs/preferences

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TIPS FOR PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH YOUNG ADULTSIn
General

• Treat me with respect, just as you would expect
  to be treated.
• Listen to what I am saying, dont just hear what
  I am saying.
• Talk to me openly and honestly, dont use a lot
  of jargon.
• Provide encouragement so I may develop my skills
  and abilities.
• Trust and believe me.
• Talk to me about any problems, dont just give up
  on me.
• Give me the benefit of the doubt.

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TIPS FOR PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH YOUNG ADULTSOn
Disability

• Look at what I can do and not just at what I
  cant do (look at my abilities, not my
  disabilities).
• Judge me by who I am on the inside, and not on
  the outside (dont label me, get to know me).
• Dont exclude me. I am a person, and I have
  feelings.

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TIPS FOR PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH YOUNG ADULTSOn
Diversity

• Keep an open mind.
• Understand that I may process information from a
  different perspective.
• Family is very important, any issues affecting my
  family members affect me as well.