Indian Family Adjustment to Children with Disabilites

Abstract

Hard copies of monographs and back issues (Volume 1, Issue 1 through Volume 8, Issue 3) are available for purchase. Prices and ordering information can be found at http://www.uchsc.edu/ai/ncaianmhr/pdf_files/Journal_Order_Form.pdf. This article describes the collective experience of a multidisciplinary network of researchers, practitioners, and program evaluators who support appropriate research and evaluation methods in working with Native peoples. Our experience underlines the critical importance of culture in understanding and conducting research with the diverse populations of American Indians and Alaska Natives, and documents the need for community-based, collaborative, participatory action research. We discuss the major findings of the first American Indian Research and Program Evaluation Methodology national symposium, and articulate a set of 20 guiding principles for conducting research and program evaluation.Keywords: American Indians and Alaska Natives, Community-based Participatory Research, Participatory Action Research, CultureThis article presents a call for systematic change in how research and program evaluation are conducted in Indian Country. 3 The authors do not intend to offer innovative research and evaluation methods; rather, we draw upon our collective experience, much of it based on working with individuals who have chronic illnesses and disabilities, to offer consolidated documentation for requiring that research and program evaluation in Indian Country be participatory. Further, we offer 20 guiding American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research Copyright: Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health Colorado School of Public Health/University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (www.ucdenver.edu/caianh) 2 VOLUME 12, NUMBER 1 principles, derived through the First Symposium of the Work Group on American Indian Research and Program Evaluation Methodology (AIRPEM), that we believe are basic to culturally respectful research and program evaluation. While the purposes of research and program evaluation activities often differ, the methods employed may be quite similar; for this reason, reference to research throughout this article can generally be assumed to apply to program evaluation as well.The special circumstances of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) affect research, program evaluation, and service delivery in Indian Country. In this regard, two fundamental considerations merit particular mention: tribal sovereignty and diversity. Tribal sovereignty means that AI/AN communities are sovereign political entities, each with its own form of governance, culture, and history. Second, AI/ANs are often mistakenly viewed as a single ethnic minority population (also referred to as the homogeneity assumption). In fact, over 560 Native nations and tribal entities exist in this country, constituting distinct cultural as well as political groups. In Alaska, for instance, there are at least four different cultural groups often referred to as Alaska Natives: Eskimos, Ale...

“Cause it’s family talking to you”: Children acting as change agents for adult food and physical activity behaviors in American Indian households in the Upper Midwestern United States

“…These vulnerabilities are interrelated and act on multiple levels to counterbalance the resiliency factors that impact children’s well-being (LaFromboise et al, 2006). Children are taught to engage in self-care and to be self-sufficient earlier in some AI cultures than average non-Native US children, and are taught to assist with household chores, food preparation and family care, and help bring harmony and balance to their households (Glover, 2001; Nichols and Keltner, 2005).…”

A Systematic Review of Indigenous Representation in School Psychology Research

“…Regarding practices with students who have disabilities, Indigenous and Western views on disabilities do not often align. For instance, Indigenous people may choose not to use the term disability, may not have a comparable word in their native language, may view a disability as a gift or uniqueness as opposed to a deficit-based perspective, and/or may expect those with and without disabilities to contribute to the community equally (Joe, 1997; Nichols & Keltner, 2005). Both general and special educators can engage in culturally responsive approaches to education with Indigenous students with disabilities by respecting cultural differences and validating students’ cultural experiences while including culturally relevant material in the curriculum, caring for students, and communicating with families.…”

Colonialism in Early Education, Care, and Intervention: A Knowledge Synthesis

“…Many articles spoke about the cultural conceptualization of disability and its inherent impact on the provision of EI (e.g., DiGiacomo et al, 2013). Cultural identity is overwhelmingly discussed in the literature as critical to children's development (Greenwood, de Leeuw, & Fraser, 2007;Joe, 1982;Nichols & Keltner, 2005), and the development of culturally specific EI programs is seen as a means for Indigenous self-determination (Ball, 2009;Peltier, 2011;Simmons, Novins, & Allen, 2004). Indigenousled education programs are discussed as a preventative strategy to mitigate negative outcomes associated with particular disabilities and poor social conditions (Greenwood, 2006;Niles et al, 2007;Peltier, 2017;Terbasket & Greenwood, 2007).…”

“…The literature identifies several social conditions that may affect Indigenous families' interactions with disability and early years services. Overwhelmingly the literature focuses on poverty (Chambers & Burnett, 2017;Skiba et al, 2005), but to a lesser extent it also discusses racism (Block, Balcazar, & Keys 2001), education levels (Nichols & Keltner, 2005), mental health (Kalyanpur, 1998), and social capital (DiGiacomo et al, 2013). The experience of early childhood disability is not only about the child, but also the family and community.…”