Disability as a Multicultural and Diversity Component

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Disability as a Multicultural and Diversity
Component

• Shonda McLaughlin, PhD, CRC
• John Hopkins University
• November 1, 2006

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What is Multiculturalism?

• Sue, et. Al (1998) defines ten characteristics of
  multiculturalism
• 1. values cultural pluralism and acknowledges our
  nation as a cultural mosaic rather than a melting
  pot.
• 2. is about social justice, cultural democracy,
  and equity.
• 3. is about helping all of us acquire the
  attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed to
  function effectively in a pluralism democratic
  society and interact with peoples from diversity
  background.

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• 4. Transcends race, class, gender, and ethnicity.
  It also includes diversity in religion, national
  origin, sexual orientation, ability, and
  disability, age geographic origin.
• 5. is about celebrating the realistic
  contributions and achievements of our and other
  cultures and involves our willingness to explore
  both the positive and negative aspects of out
  groups and other groups behavior over time.
• 6. is essential component of analytical thinking
  and challenges us to study multiple perspectives,
  to develop multiple perspectives, and teach our
  children how to integrate broad and conflicting
  bodies of information to arrive at sound
  judgements.
• 7. It recognizes treating everyone the same may
  deny equal access and opportunities, and that
  differential treatment is not necessarily
  preferential.

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• 8. means change at the individual,
  organizational, and societal levels. It is an
  on-going and long-term process that requires
  commitment and hard work.
• 9. may mean owning up to painful realities about
  oneself, our group, and our group society.
• 10. is about achieving positive individual,
  community, and societal outcomes because it
  values inclusion, cooperation, and movement
  toward mutually shared goals.

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Disability

• What is it?

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Websters definition

• 1. A disabled condition
• 2. That which disables, as an illness or injury
• 3. A legal disqualification or incapacity
• 4. Something that restricts limitation
  disadvantage

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Images

• What comes to mind when you hear the word
  disabled?
• Define disability.
• FDR
• Athletic
• Crippled
• Supercrip
• Inspiration
• Not a Whole
• Memorial
• Whats the significance in the statute?

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Language/Needs/Ideas

• perpetuates common misconceptions about people
  with disabilities
• Power does not equal to disability.
• Political movement

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Effective Multicultural Counseling (Sue Sue,
1990)

• Movement from being culturally unaware to being
  aware and sensitive of his/her own cultural
  heritage and to valuing and respecting
  differences
• Counselor awareness of his/her own values an
  biases and how those biases may affect culturally
  diverse persons with disabilities

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cont..

• Developing and increasing the comfort level with
  difference that exist between themselves and
  persons being served in terms of race and beliefs
• Sensitivity to circumstances that may dictate the
  referral of a culturally diverse individual with
  a disability to a member of his/her own race/
  culture
• Acknowledgment and awareness of his/her own
  beliefs, attitudes, and feelings

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Changing Views

• Although there has been improvement, we, still,
  have ways to go.
• Progressed from institutionalization
  rehabilitation
• Eugenics
• Veterans
• Segregation

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Implications

• Consciously, add disability related issues into
  our conversations.
• Do not be embarrassed of disability.
• Own up to our responsibility to include people
  with disabilities, instead of excluding them.

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The point is...

• We all have abilities
• Many of us have disabilities
• The focus is on the PERSON and their ABILITIES
• And now, a word on ility