A review of book:”Learning Challenges for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Students With Disabilities” by Cklara Moradian,MSW
Textbook co-authored by Kurdish scholar offers marginalized youth and those with disabilities fair access to education
Cklara Moradian,MSW
It is with great honor and a deep sense of pride that I share with you Dr. Soraya Fallah’s textbook Learning Challenges for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Students With Disabilities, co-authored with two other leading national educational experts Dr. Bronte Reynolds and Dr. Wendy Murawski. I have so much respect and admiration for the work they have been able to contribute to our world
I write
this note from a dual perspective. First and foremost, 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. But maybe, more importantly, I am sharing my thoughts about this
book as a former student with a disability from an understudied and underserved
population myself, and as a current professional Social Worker and
Psychotherapist serving Culturally and Linguistically Diverse youth with
disabilities at a leading pediatric hospital.
This
book is the culmination of over five years of scholarship, research,
thought-provoking exchanges, conversations, revisions, and edits. It does more
than point out learning challenges, the textbook also sheds light on the
existence and educational needs of a population of students that are often
erased or misrepresented (namely, students with disabilities from Middle
Eastern and North African backgrounds) and offers a culturally humble approach
to looking for solutions and serving this population within the United States
Special Education system.
The
book is grounded in a mixed methods rigorous research program that Dr. Fallah
conducted directly with this population. Her study was one of the first in the
country to look specifically at the experiences of Middle East, North
Africa, and Southwest Asian (MENASWA) families with their children’s
special education system. The research coined the umbrella term MENASWA to
encompass a group of people who are often stereotyped and racialized together
in the US, but this term is not there to further erase the nuance and
multiplicity of identity. Rather, it helps us have an inclusive approach to the
many ethnic and religious minorities that exist in a vast region gripped in
conflict.
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.
As with all studies, it had its limitations, but I know intimately that it
honored the spirit of the disability justice motto: “Nothing About Us
Without Us!” The book builds on that study and adds guidance for
administrators and educators to further serve this population.
Another
critical development in the book is that Dr. Fallah identifies what she calls
“A Triple Threat” or Triangle of Triple Threat (TTT) model of looking at this
population. In short, this population faces both internal and external
stressors of being a minority group, as well as facing structural and
institutional barriers to success. I will be the first to critique our
education system as often failing our most marginalized students, and we
routinely, if not intentionally, leave behind students with disabilities.
We see
it today. As COVID-19 forces us to adapt to distance learning, IEP meetings
have been cancelled, and very little focus has been given to accommodating
students with disabilities. But this has historically been the norm, and this
book speaks to that reality. When we add on issues of power and privilege,
historic intergenerational trauma, direct experiences of consecutive wars in
the Middle East, and a basic erasure of identity and difference, the effects
are compounded to create an environment where learning is not just a challenge,
but rather a hostile feat. The Triangle of Triple Threat begins to detangle
some of these intertwined challenges.
I can
say that many of the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse youth and families I
serve have institutional trauma from their interactions with the education
system. Some of that trauma is caused by lack of understanding from seemingly
well-meaning, well-intentioned educators and administrators, but it is also
caused by policies and practices on a larger scale, such as the fact that the
specific needs of this population have been veiled under the category of
“white,” and yet they continue to be racialized, stigmatized, and marginalized.
This book tackles these issues head-on.
At the
core of this book and central to its mission is this idea that we simply have
very little information about the experiences of MENASWA
families with their children’s special education system, and we must begin
by asking them and learning from them in the hopes of creating a more inclusive
space where learning can be possible. This should be the beginning of a longer
conversation and I hope this book leads to other young scholars and researchers
picking up this work, not just to fill the gaps in the literature, but to
contribute to policy shifts that will help serve our students.
I am
hoping that as people are forced to stay home in safety, they can find refuge
in imagining new possibilities for a better world, one where the needs of all
our students are considered and met. This book helps guide us toward that
possibility.
You can access the webpage and book cover here.
Cklara Moradian, MSW is a adolescent
Psychotherapist, a diaspora Kurd, former refugee, survivor, social justice
advocate, spoken word poet, and writer.
The views expressed in this article are those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Kurdistan
24.
Editing
by Karzan Sulaivany
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