juntos podemos! together we can!
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Juntos Podemos! Together We Can!. Effective Strategies to Support Spanish-Speaking Families of Children with Deaf-Blindness. Getting Ready: Identifying Families. Identifying families through existing resources DB FACES SCHS (Title V Program of NJ Department of Health) - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Juntos Podemos!Together We Can!
Effective Strategies to Support Spanish-Speaking Families of Children with Deaf-Blindness
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Getting Ready: Identifying Families
• Identifying families through existing resources– DB FACES– SCHS (Title V Program
of NJ Department of Health)
– Programs serving children with deafness/hearing loss or blindness/visual impairment
– CBOs serving Latino families
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Getting Ready: Developing Protocols
• Identified existing validated surveys on family support
• In consultation with Latina SPAN staff & Resource parents & national & NJ DB TA projects, revised to target goals of project & reflect focus group questions
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Getting Ready: Reaching Out
• Sent letters in English & Spanish to identified families– Introduced ourselves &
purpose– Asked how, where, &
when would like to meet
– Asked about needs– Informed re: available
supports for participation
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Getting Ready: Follow Up• Spanish-speaking
staff attempted to contact each family by phone– Ensure received letter– Ascertain interest– Identify dates, topics,
locations, etc.• Barriers
– Not all identified students had #s
– Wrong #s– Disconnected #s
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Getting Ready: Compiling Materials
• Worked with national & NJ DB TA projects to identify existing materials in Spanish
• Latina SPAN staff reviewed & identified key materials to use
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Holding 1st Meeting!• North Jersey
– Accessible location in community-based organization serving Spanish-speaking families
– Provided transportation, child care, food, gifts, & immediate reimbursement
– Conducted focus group
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Holding 1st Meeting• Fewer families
identified in Central & South Jersey; much smaller initial meeting
• Identified need to do additional outreach & family support
• Conducted focus group over the phone with families who did not attend
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Analyzing the Information • Reviewed focus group
information– Barriers to accessing info
& supports– Lack of knowledge of
supports– Mistreatment by
government agencies– Failure of agencies to
provide translation & interpretation services
– Materials too complicated
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Parents’ Feelings • Most families didn’t
know about:– Resources
• SPAN• DB FACES• DDD & respite• Catastrophic Illness in
Children relief fund– Rights in special
education process– Other children & families
in the same situation– What was happening with
their children in school
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Parents’ Feelings • Parents were afraid
to:– Ask questions– Visit their children’s
school– Disagree with
school personnel• Parents often felt:
– Hopeless– Sad & depressed– Overwhelmed– Alone
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Parents’ Feelings at Focus Group
• Able to attend because of the supports– Could pay for
responsible babysitter– Could get to and from
the meeting– Knew it would be in
their language– Knew they would meet
other families with similar experiences
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Parents’ Feelings at Focus Group
• Connections to other parents made them feel less alone
• Connections to resources made them feel more hopeful
• Talking about their children released their stress
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Deciding Next Steps • Met with all
partners including a parent leader identified through first focus group
• Developed an action plan for a year of follow-up activities
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Action Plan Purpose • Help families:
– Understand children’s strengths & needs
– Built trust & improve communication with their children & with service providers
– Navigate community & agency resources
– Participate more effectively in decision-making
– Follow through more effectively on recommendations of professionals re: children
– Build parent leadership & peer-to-peer support
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Action Plan Summary
• Monthly activities– Support group– Workshops on
critical issues– Parent to Parent
orientation– Attendance at
SPAN conference– Participation in
other focus groups
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Action Plan Summary • Other activities
– Home visits– Attendance at IEP
meetings– Ongoing
communication– Connecting
families to other service providers & to each other
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Positive Impacts • Families providing
emotional support to each other
• Families understanding their rights in the IEP process
• Families having higher expectations for their children
• Families feeling more connected to DB FACES
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Positive Impacts • Families know they can:
– Ask questions– Get information in Spanish– Visit their children’s school– Reach out to someone for
help if there’s a problem– Learn how to communicate
with their children– Talk to each other for
emotional support– Figure out solutions to their
problems– Have a better future for
themselves & their children
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“Negative” Impacts • Families’ hopes
being dashed by disrespectful school staff with low expectations
• Information not available in their language from school
• Resources not sufficient to address all needs
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Lessons Learned• Importance of:
– Building trust– Asking questions; the
Platinum Rule!– Being clear– Providing ongoing
support– Building family
leadership from within– Not assuming
anything!
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Building Trust• Trust is not
automatic; it must be earned and it can be lost.
• Trust must be two-way: those who are not trusted, do not trust.
• Trust leads to belief in each other and in a cause.
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Developing Trust & Being Clear
• Be honest about the problems, the barriers, the potential negative consequences – as well as the potential benefit
• What can you offer? What can’t you offer?
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Developing Trust• Be in it for the long
haul. Don’t abandon ship after the first disappointment or failure.
• Admit mistakes.• Ask for help!!!• LISTEN!!!• Acknowledge others’
contributions.
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Asking Questions• Golden Rule: Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you
• Platinum Rule: Do unto others as they would have you do unto them• How do you
find out? Ask!
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Building Leadership• Building leadership
requires:– Trust– Hope– Shared
relationships– Honesty– Openness– Flexibility– Love
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Hope• Hope is not
abstract. It is based on people’s hearts and souls, their experiences, and their belief that a better life is possible – and deserved.
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Building Leadership• Everyone’s
contribution is respected.
• Leadership is identified from within.
• Internal leadership is publicly recognized, supported, & validated.
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Building Leadership• Encourage and
support families to find their voice.
• Be ready to hear what family members say.
• Respect the passion of families for change.
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Looking to the Future….• Before, the families were
deaf & blind– Never heard anything from
the school that they understood
– Never saw their children’s school, services, or progress
– Never spoke about their children or on their behalf
– Had no hope for the future
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Looking to the Future….• Now the families
– Eyes have been opened– Ears are starting to hear– They are speaking
about their children, about their lives, about their needs
– See a future for their children
– Have developed an extended family