Abstract
Latino immigrant families with children with disabilities experience multiple sources of oppression during their settlement process in the United States. Unfair social structures and dominant cultural values and norms and the way they influence the immigrants' personal life stories generate a cycle of oppression very difficult to break. This paper presents a case study of how a group of Latino parents carried out a process of liberation fueled by the generation of empowering community narratives (critical awareness leading to transformative action) that resulted from a community-university partnership. Participants initiated a process that led them to discover their own stories of oppression and create new stories; to deconstruct the dominant cultural narratives and modify existing ones; and to understand contexts for power sharing. This joint reflection and increased awareness propelled group members to take action by founding a grassroots organization to redress some of the injustices that were partly responsible for their oppression, thus generating shifts at the personal, relational, and collective levels. In light of the theory of liberation, we discuss the participants' development of critical awareness that led them to take action to address their unmet needs.
Highlights
The six parents decided to learn American Sign Language (ASL) in order to communicate with their children, many of whom were learning ASL at school
This paper illustrated the responses to experiences of multiple oppressions by a group of immigrant Latino parents of children who are deaf in a community-university partnership context
The process included the development of critical awareness, recognition of own strengths, training and skills development and action for overcoming oppression
Summary
The ADA, a U.S federal law passed in 1990 to protect the civil rights of individuals with disabilities was designed to remove barriers faced by people with disabilities in the areas of employment; access to local and state government services; and access to public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. As part of this research project, we developed partnerships with community grassroots organizations and conducted advocacy trainings. 10 to 15 individuals with disabilities or parents of children with disabilities attended monthly advocacy training meetings with the research team at a local public library for a period of about a year and a half. Once the groups had discussed their concerns and analyzed the causes carefully, they started to develop action plans and the researchers monitored the implementation of these plans (see Balcazar, Keys, & SuarezBalcazar, 2001). The research team was composed of three faculty members and one community psychology graduate student
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
