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##  Cultural Reciprocity Aids Collaboration with Families. ERIC/OSEP                Digest.                                                                      

The tension between Jim and Annette is obvious. Jim is a new                    transition coordinator assigned to work with Annette's son, Renaldo,            who has Down syndrome. A fervent believer in self-determination for             students with disabilities, Jim has been trying unsuccessfully to               convince Annette that Renaldo should move into a group home after               graduation. Annette has flatly refused to even consider the move.               Jim attributes her resistance to overprotectiveness, but this could             not be farther from the truth. 
Annette wants Renaldo to develop               into manhood. It's just that she was raised to believe that a                   child's first step to adulthood is to become a full-fledged family              member by contributing to the family income. She doesn't understand             why Jim thinks his way is better--after all, this arrangement is                working well for her other son and his wife, who have almost saved              enough for a down payment on their own home. 
This can be typical              of what happens when a service provider and family member from                  different cultural backgrounds meet for the first time. If the                  parent's perspective of the world is similar to the service                     provider's, then a positive connection generally occurs. However, if            the parent holds a belief system different than the service                     provider's, difficulties typically arise. The source of the                     difficulty may be different points of view that are defined and                 limited by cultural orientation. 
Helping families and service                 providers-including teachers, related service providers,                        para-educators, and others-from different cultural orientations find            mutual ground for communication has been the focus of a substantive             body of work conducted by University of Miami researcher, Beth                  Harry, and her colleagues Monimalka Day and Maya Kalyanpur. To be               successful at this, service providers must take the initiative in               building a bridge between the cultures of diverse families and the              culture of schools. Harry and her colleagues advocate that                      professionals initiate a two-way process of information sharing and             understanding called Cultural Reciprocity. ABOUT CULTURAL                     RECIPROCITYAccording to Harry, stumbling blocks often arise when            service providers and families do not recognize and accept the                  other's culture. Consider the assumptions that may be made about a              disability.  Western culture typically views disability from a                  clinical perspective. The following four assumptions underlie a                 clinical perspective of disability: 
* Disability is a physical                phenomenon. 
* Disability is an individual phenomenon. 
*                     Disability is a chronic illness. 
* Disability requires remediation            or fixing. 
Other cultures may view disability quite differently.              For example, the following assumptions about disability contrast                sharply with the medical or clinical model: 
* Disability is a                 spiritual phenomenon. 
* Disability is a group phenomenon (e.g.,               the family and society are causal agents). 
* Disability is a                  time-limited phenomenon. 
* Disability must be accepted, which                 affects whether the family seeks intervention. 
Thus, while a                  service provider may view disability as a physical                              phenomenon-something that can be measured and treated in a                      scientific way-a parent may, as a result of cultural background,                view disability as a blessing or a punishment to be treated by                  spiritual means. Unless the service provider recognizes his or her              own assumptions in the context of this interchange, he or she may               judge the parent as irrational. 
A premise of the Cultural                     Reciprocity process is that service providers must develop their own            cultural self-awareness in order to recognize the cultural                      underpinnings of their professional practice. This, in turn,                    facilitates conversations with the families with whom they interact             and enables them to better identify the values and beliefs that                 underlie the family's priorities, goals, and visions for their                  child. 
In the Cultural Reciprocity process, each step informs the             others. The steps and an example from Harry's research are presented            below: 
Step 1: Identify the cultural values in your interpretation            of a student's difficulties or in the recommendation for                        service. 
Example: Imagine that you have recommended that a young              adult with developmental disabilities move out of the family home               into a small group home or supported apartment. Ask yourself which              values underlie your recommendation. For many of us, central to our             recommendation will be the values of equity, independence, and                  individuality. Next, analyze your experiences that contributed to               your holding these values. Consider the role of nationality,                    culture, socio-economic status, and professional education in                   shaping your values. 
Step 2: Find out whether the family members              being served recognize and value your assumptions, and if not, how              their views differ from yours. 
Example: Imagine that the family               members do not consider a group home an option for their child. Here            are some possible reasons for their position. They view adult                   independence as either marriage or bringing in an income adequate to            support other family members. Thus, family members do not view                  living independently as a milestone to adulthood for any of their               children-including their young adult child with developmental                   disabilities. In fact, an older sister and her husband live in the              home. Finally, the family may perceive equality differently for the             child with a disability, either in terms of vulnerability or in                 relation to values (e.g., individuality is not highly valued in the             culture or family). 
Step 3: Acknowledge and give explicit respect             to any cultural differences identified, and fully explain the                   cultural basis of your assumptions. 
Example: After listening to               the family's response, share any value differences held by yourself             and mainstream professionals. Using the example of the young adult              with developmental disabilities, this might mean explaining how and             why U.S. society values and defines independence. You might share               some of the benefits other families and adult children have                     experienced with residential group homes. By explaining your views              from a cultural perspective, you allow the family to understand the             basis for your recommendations. 
Step 4: Through discussion and                collaboration, set about determining the most effective way of                  adapting your professional interpretations or recommendations to the            value system of this family. 
Example: Although the family may not             want out-of-home placement for the child, they may have other needs.            The challenge becomes one of working out a solution that respects               the family system while at the same time providing other types of               support they will need. In this example, the family has identified              that it values children who contribute income toward the family.                Thus, you might suggest pursuing Social Security Disability income              or focus on employment opportunities for the individual with                    disabilities. Or, you might investigate whether home renovations                might be undertaken that result in a semi-independent living                    arrangement within the family home. 
"Not understanding how culture            influences our assumptions about disability can have serious                    implications" says Harry. She found one example in Puerto Rico where            people tend to view disabilities as more severe conditions. That is,            less severe, high incidence disabilities, such as mild learning                 disabilities, are often not seen as disabilities, but simply as                 individual characteristics within the normal range. Harry reported              that when parents from Puerto Rico realized that their views were               not valued by Anglo service providers, they stopped participating in            their child's educational process. TAKE THE FIRST STEPCultural            Reciprocity facilitates conversations with families that can                    identify the values and beliefs that underlie priorities, goals, and            visions for the child. As service providers learn about themselves              and the families with whom they work, the families also acquire                 knowledge about the special education system that may enable them to            make better-informed decisions about services. An observed outcome              of Cultural Reciprocity is more positive relationships and more                 reasonable goals that eventually are implemented. 
Implementing                Cultural Reciprocity begins when a service provider takes the first             step-to identify the values that are embedded in his or her own                 interpretation of a student's difficulties or in the recommendation             for service. The learning process requires a commitment to seek                 understanding, at every interaction, of ourselves and the families              we serve. CULTURAL ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING THE INDIVIDUALS WITH                DISABILITIES

EDUCATION ACT (IDEA)Individualism in IDEA: IDEA             provides that each child is entitled to a free appropriate public               education. This principle is based on the assumption that the                   individual, not society, comes first; thus, there is an individual              focus for all education service programming and due process.                    Further, the assumption is that children will develop the skills                they need to acquire a job and become independent, productive                   citizens. 
Choice in IDEA: Choice is embedded in IDEA in the                   principles of least restrictive environment and parent                          participation. Tension exists when schools seek to limit the                    continuum of services offered or available resources that parents               may choose from. 
Equity in IDEA: Underlying the principles of zero            reject, nondiscriminatory assessment, and parent participation in               IDEA is the value of equity. Excluding students with disabilities is            perceived as a discriminatory act. REFERENCESERIC/OSEP Special            Project (Fall 2001). Family involvement in special education.                   Research Connections in Special Education (number 9). Arlington, VA:            The ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education.                    Available online at http://ericec.org. 
Harry, B., Kalyanpur, M., &            Day, M. (1999). Building Cultural Reciprocity with families.                    Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. 
Harry, B., Rueda,               R., & Kalyanpur, M.(1999). Cultural reciprocity in sociocultural                perspective: Adapting the normalization principle for family                    collaboration. Exceptional Children, 66 (1), 123-136. 
Kalyanpur,              M., & Harry, B. (1999). Culture in special education. Baltimore, MD:            Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. 
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ERIC/OSEP Digests are in               the public domain and may be freely reproduced and disseminated, but            please acknowledge your source. This digest was prepared with                   funding from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S.              Department of Education, under Contract No. ED-99-CO-0026. The                  opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect               the positions of OSEP or the Department of Education.                        **Title:** Cultural Reciprocity Aids Collaboration with Families. ERIC/OSEP                Digest.                                                                      **Note:** ERIC/OSEP Digest #E614.                                                      **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, Council for            Exceptional Children, 1110 North Glebe Rd., Arlington, VA                       22201-5709. Tel: 800-328-0272 (Toll Free); Fax: 703-620-2521;                   e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.ericec.org.                **Descriptors:** Cross Cultural Training,  Cultural Awareness,  Cultural Differences,             Culture Conflict,  Disabilities, Elementary Secondary Education,                Family School Relationship,  Parent Teacher Cooperation, Preschool             Education, Self Evaluation (Individuals)                                     **Identifiers:**
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