Reviews and Commentary on "Learning Challenges for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Students with Disabilities"

Reviews:

"I am honored to share this work with my co-author and partner through this scholarly journey. Dr. Soraya Fallah, had shared her commitment, her passion, her knowledge, and her meaningful personal experiences to bring us all to a significant awareness of the needs of young children from faraway places. Dr. Fallah began this journey as a member of a class of brilliant young scholars who occupied places in the graduate programs of our university, pursuing their dreams and ambitions in the area of educational leadership. She continued along that path, accepting, meeting, and overcoming challenges along the way, in the end to persevere and succeed in achieving a personal vision, to affectively assume a position as a scholarly leader and to communicate to us all, a most important message to the leaders of our schools in this country.

An outstanding characteristic of an effective leader is to model the way, and we all share in the gratitude to Dr. Fallah in that regard for being such a powerful model, by demonstrating the energy, commitment, diligence, passion, and empathy necessary to reach a treasured vision. Thank you, Dr. Fallah".

Dr. Bronte Reynolds, coauthor of "Learning Challenges for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Students With Disabilities"

"Fallah, Reynolds, and Murawski’s work on the MENSWA population can potentially serve as a roadmap for us to gain a greater understanding of how to draw upon the community assets and resources that make this group unique. Generations of educators and counselors now understand that these resources can be utilized to literally transform family trees, specifically though education (Pk-20 and beyond)". 

Associate Dean/Professor of the School of Education at Nevada State College, Dr. Shartriya Collier 

"...

As a scholar, you have to have a big heart, a deep dedication, and enormous patience to choose the field of special education. Soraya has all what it takes to do well in this field, especially since she is surrounded with a loving and intelligent family who are all dedicated to human rights, social justice and making of this world a better place for people regardless of differences in gender, ethnicity and nationality". 

Professor and Director of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, former Chair of Gender and Women's Studies at California State University, Dr. Nayereh Tohidi 

"... I am the daughter of a scholar and so a witness to the journey from the book’s inception in those early dissertation days to what is now a remarkable accomplishment of a scholarly, peer-reviewed reference source meant to provide guidance and knowledge to educators, teachers, administrators, social workers, clinicians, and parents"...
 

The developed book delves into issues of equity, intersectionality, stigma, ableism, and systemic oppression. It also does not shy away from difficult conversations about the role of cultural norms that impact service utilization for these families. I remember very early on we had heated but fruitful conversations about making sure the initial study did not further stigmatize or alienate, that it did not leave out the voices of those most impacted, and that it remained rooted in a liberatory and anti-oppressive theoretical framework".

Cklara Moradian, MSW, ASW,Psychotherapist I at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)

Greater Los Angeles Area

"Congratulations to the amazing Soraya Fallah and her colleagues for publishing this book on Learning Challenges for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Students With Disabilities. Soraya never stops working to support others. She is a true fighter, so happy to see her going from one success to another".( Houzan Mahmoud,is a Kurdish feminist, writer and anti-war activist,founder of cultureproject.org

Dr. Jamal Al Khateeb

professor of special education in the Department of Counseling & Special Education at the University of Jordan

ثريا فلاح Soraya Fallah
تواصلت معي ثريا أكثر من مرة أثناء إعدادها لأطروحة الدكتوراه في جامعة ولاية كاليفورنيا /نورثردج بعد أن قرأت ما كتبتُ في مجلات أمريكية عن الأمريكان من أصل عربي ذوي الإعاقة. كانت في قمة المهنية والأمانة العلمية واللطف. سألتني منذ البداية إن كنت أود أن أتشارك معها في نشر دراسات من أطروحتها أو في تحويل الأطروحة إلى كتاب للنشر في أمريكا. اليوم أرسلت لي عينات من فصول كتابها الذي نشر مؤخرا. عملَتْ لأربع سنوات لإنجاز هذا العمل العلمي المميز. الكتاب متوفر الكترونيا وأشجع المتخصصين في التربية الخاصة على الافادة منه

Soraya Farmer Soraya Fallah
Chandelier reached out to me more than once while preparing her PhD thesis at U.S. State University / Northridge after reading what she wrote in American magazines about Arab Americans with Disabilities. She was at the top of professionalism, scientific honesty and kindness. She asked me from the beginning if I would like to partner with her in publishing studies from her thesis or in turning thesis into a book for publication in America. Today she sent me samples of her recently published book chapters. Worked for four years to accomplish this special scientific work. The book is available electronically and encourage specialists in special education to benefit from it.