codymcox.files.wordpress.com · Web viewThe six most common special needs in classrooms today are: attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD),

Running head: DISABILITY CULTURE AND SOCIALIZATION

Disability Culture and Socialization: How Children with Special Needs are Perceived by

Counselors, Parents, Teachers, and Peers

December 4, 2017

Social & Cultural Diversity in Counseling

Faculty: Janys Murphy

Cody Cox

Prescott College

DISABILITY CULTURE AND SOCIALIZATION

Abstract

This paper was to explore the social constructs of disability identity and culture, particularly in

regard to the counseling and teaching professions. The author participates in a service-learning

project at a local school in an exclusive special needs classroom. The persisting problem of

ableism and how it creates a culture amongst those with disabilities is discussed, as well as the

prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in classrooms and its socially-

constructed nature. Although the site in question is an exclusive classroom specifically for

students with special needs, an inclusive education model for special needs students appears to

be most effective in reducing prejudice and discrimination from peers and increasing overall

feelings of self-worth in special needs students. Adequate training for counselors and teachers is

essential in advocating for and helping those with disabilities succeed. They require instruction

in culture, disability, ableism, and related theories as society is increasingly diverse and all

cultural and ethnic groups are represented in disability culture.

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Disability Culture and Socialization: How Children with Special Needs are Perceived by

Counselors, Parents, Teachers, and Peers

Introduction

This paper provides an analysis of the socialization of disability culture and perceptions

thereof, especially from the perspectives of the mental health and education professions. The

author engaged in a service-learning opportunity in a special needs classroom at a public school

where he was immersed in a culture with which he had little to no prior experience. This was to

increase a sense of comfort and awareness while working with individuals who identify

differently from the dominant culture.

Two running themes/concepts of this paper are socialization and disability culture.

Socialization is the learning of norms, attitudes, beliefs, and values through interactions with

other people. Disability culture utilizes socialization, but takes it a step further into a more

specific group for those with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. All cultural and ethnic

groups are represented in disability culture (race, gender, religion, social class, et cetera).

Although declining, ableism is still a problem and how it is perceived by counselors, teachers,

parents, and peers is socially-determined. ADHD, specifically, is one of the most prevalent

special needs in classrooms and often goes undiagnosed due to its various forms. Counselors and

teachers should make a concerted effort to get adequate training in cultural diversity, especially

in regard to those with disabilities as all minority groups are represented in disability culture.

They need to be trained to recognize internal symptoms of disability as well as external ones.

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Context and Service-Learning Experience

The author’s chosen service-learning site was in a special needs classroom at a public

school, Granite Mountain School, in Prescott, Arizona. This school is considered by the local

school district to be “upper elementary,” catering only to fifth and sixth grades (ages 10 to 12).

The populations served by this school, as to be expected in most public schools, are fairly

diverse. The student body consists of roughly 500 students from the Prescott area, most of which

are either white (Caucasian) or Native American.

There are a handful of special needs programs at this school. Most of these programs are

for “pull-out” students, where the students are present in general education classrooms and are

occasionally taken out of class according to personal needs. In an effort to be fully-immersed in a

culture different from his own, however, the author chose to work in the “Bridges” program.

This program is such that it is independent of and exclusive from other classes, meaning that the

students remain in the same room and with the same teacher for the duration of the day. The

students are identified by general education teachers, counselors, social workers, and school

administrators to be struggling at the highest level compared to other students. They are assigned

to this program until they are considered competent enough to re-enter general education

classrooms. This can take months or years, depending on the student and their individual

progress.

This class consists of nine students, all of which are males. Six of the students are white,

one is Latino, one is of a mixed/unknown race, and one is Native American. The author was

informed that all of these students come from “troubled” backgrounds or unhealthy family

situations (abusive homes, single-parent households, et cetera).

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The Bridges program follows a behavior-learning regimen set by Boys Town, a non-

profit organization headquartered in Nebraska whose mission is to “[change] the way America

cares for children, families, and communities…” (Boys Town, 2017). School officials have

determined that the students in the Bridges program are most deficient in the skills required to

get along with others, follow directions, and communicate properly with their peers and adults.

The primary focus in Granite Mountain School using Boys Town in this classroom is to help the

students develop these skills. Academics are incorporated into the daily schedule, but done so at

a minimum.

The author’s role in the classroom was that of a teacher aide. In a general education

classroom, it is usually considered adequate to have just one adult supervise a class of thirty.

However, in the Bridges program, misbehavior is often so prevalent that aides are required to

help with keeping students from harming themselves or others, and to keep them on-task. The

author’s contribution was both needed and appreciated in this context. The adults in the

classroom consisted of one head teacher, two full-time aides, and one part-time aide (the author).

When everyone was present in the classroom, there was roughly one adult for every two

students.

In this service-learning experience, the author observed variations of distress among the

students. It is to be expected that behaviors and personal problems will change from day-to-day

according to a myriad of factors such as psychosocial, economic, cognitive, nutritional, and

environmental influences (Chinn, 2010). Because of this, the author’s success in learning about a

disability culture varied according to the behavior of the students and some days appeared to be

more productive than others. Because the students were excluded from the general education

program, they did not appear to have much of an awareness of being different from the dominant

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culture, nor were they motivated to exit the program as they seemed comfortable being with

students who shared various disabilities.

Socially speaking, the students seemed to respond immediately to each other’s behaviors

or misbehaviors. If one student became particularly disruptive, most of the others would join in.

Conversely, if the class was generally quiet, it would tend to stay that way for the rest of the day.

On occasion, the head teacher would play soft classical music for the students as they worked

independently. This proved to calm the students and to help them stay focused.

Another simple, but effective therapeutic approach was to escort one student at a time

outside and walk around the track for at least one lap. This was particularly effective for one

student as he often overreacted to encounters with peers and adults. If he came back into the

classroom feeling calm, the rest of the class would behave accordingly. Ironically, this student

also had the self-awareness to retreat to the “de-escalation room” on his own accord. This room

was a small, padded room adjacent to the classroom where students would go to calm down and

to be alone for a few minutes. In some cases, this was also used to keep dangerous students from

harming others.

A rewards system was put in place to encourage students to improve their behavior. This

system emulated a fairly realistic representation of a modern economy. The students would earn

points (currency) each day according to merit, and points would be deducted for misbehavior. At

the end of each day, the teacher and aides would “check the students out,” which consisted of an

accounting of the student’s behavior. Most students would ultimately accumulate enough points

throughout the day to “purchase” a reward. Available rewards varied, but the most commonly

sought after were snacks, drinks, computer time, and flexible seating (the option to freely move

around the room the following school day). Other rewards, mostly toys, were offered at a much

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higher price, although the author observed that none of the students were interested in saving

their points over the course of several days to buy a larger reward. That is, they seemed to be

most interested in the rewards of lowest value which could be obtained easily and frequently.

Cultural Deficit Theory is defined as the expectation of minoritized groups to perpetuate

their own lack of achievement in society due to a deficiency in the cultural values necessary for

progress (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2012). Because the students in the Bridges class do not perceive

value in delayed gratification, it is likely (but not certain) that this behavior will continue into

adulthood, leading to poor life decisions and a relatively low standard of living (Cheng, Shein, &

Chiou, 2012). The desire for instant gratification is likely to be a product of socialization,

meaning that it is a norm learned from other people within a cultural group (McAuliffe et al.,

2013).

Integration of Current Research

Disability culture is one that largely goes unnoticed (Riddell & Watson, 2014). However,

there are records of those with disabilities having experienced types of oppression or

discrimination. Brown (2015) shares the following story in his article, Disability Culture and the

ADA:

When the academic year ended in spring 1982, there was still no job in sight. I sat at

home, married, with a young daughter, wondering what to do, when my department chair

called and asked if I would be interested in writing a history of a company in Tulsa. I

jumped at this chance to have a job and feed my family. To make a long--and much

written about--story as short as possible, I did not get the job. I was informed on a 45-

minute phone call, after being verbally hired, that this company did not believe I could

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write a book because I used crutches. To add insult to this injury, my contact at the

company told me perhaps if I had the physique of a football player I would have the

stamina to write this book, but since my then 6'4," 160-pound (at best) frame did not

resemble that of a football player, I could not do the job. Insulted, dismayed, and angry, I

endeavored to fight this affront. But I could not. No law banned this discrimination.

This is an example of ableism, which is defined as a system of oppression toward people

who have cognitive, psychiatric, emotional, and physical disabilities (McAuliffe et al., 2013).

Most would agree that such mistreatment continues today, although now more discreetly due to

new laws and an overall increased awareness. The overall public view of disability culture is

improving, but job opportunities for those specifically with intellectual disabilities is not likely to

improve without increased awareness and cooperation from the dominant group (Lysaght,

Ouellette-Kuntz, & Lin, 2010). Brown continues his article discussing the implementation of the

Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, which does not directly address disability culture, but

helps to alleviate discrimination problems in public contexts (2015).

The six most common special needs in classrooms today are: attention deficit

disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), autism or Asperger syndrome,

dyslexia, physical disability, speech/language disorder, and dyspraxia (Chinn, 2010). While none

of the students in the Bridges program at Granite Mountain School showed substantial evidence

of physical or sensory disabilities, health, psychological, intellectual, and learning disabilities

were apparent. There was a noticeable prevalence of attention deficit among the students, which

McAuliffe et al. (2013) claim is often included under the category of health disabilities. The

author noted that this attention deficit was manifested in both hyperactivity and inattention.

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In children, ADHD is most often diagnosed among males rather than females, but there is

some research suggesting that females are under-diagnosed due to the tendency of females to be

less likely to show external manifestations such as disruptive behavior and speaking out (Chinn,

2010). This is an indicator of why the Bridges classroom typically houses male students.

Research suggests that symptoms of ADHD in school settings are indicators of ADHD in home

settings as well, and teachers’ perceptions of such a students’ home life are typically negative,

gathering that students with ADHD most likely come from parents who also have ADHD (Burns

& Becker, 2017; Lawrence, Estrada, & McCormick, 2017). Counselors should be aware of less

obvious symptoms of ADHD, especially in females and parents, and intervene appropriately.

Rohde et al. (2005) attempted to determine whether ADHD is best described as having

biological origins or if it is a social construct. They concluded that ADHD, being largely

subjective, is socially constructed because of variations in expectation and tolerance; what is

considered “normal” is determined by a given culture. This brings to question whether the

author’s perceived observation of the students in the Bridges classroom having an attention

deficit is valid. The author noted that the Bridges head teacher did not appear to have a negative

perception of the students’ disabilities in the classroom, which can vary from person to person,

based on the teacher’s individual socialization and gender of the student (Lawrence et al., 2017).

If ADHD is socially constructed, then that would mean that the students are just children being

themselves, and are not merely their assumed diagnosis. However, research champions that

dangerous and unproductive behaviors can be corrected, if done in preschool years (Okechukwu,

2013; Weiland, 2016).

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Many have suggested the idea that having special needs is really just a variation of what

is normal, as opposed to having a specific medical condition (Chinn, 2010). This parallels the

idea of the Social/Minority Model (McAuliffe et al., 2013). One study quoted a master’s-

prepared teacher in regard to ADHD:

The definition that I kind of operate from is one in which, not that the child is not

attentive, but that the child is too attentive, in that everything stimulates their brain…I

think that everything can kind of capture their mind… (Lawrence et al., 2017)

It is common in public schools, both in the United States and worldwide, to engage in an

inclusive education model. This is where special needs students are included in general education

classrooms only to be pulled out occasionally for specialized interventions (Goncalves & Lemos,

2014; Marin, 2014). While Granite Mountain School does participate in inclusive education to a

degree, the Bridges program is exclusive because the students are considered to have the highest

need for individual attention and occasionally pose a physical threat to other students and

themselves.

Although they may vary by both personal and social influences, the attitudes of peers

(those who are not considered to have special needs) toward those in exclusive special needs

programs tend to be more negative. This is due to the fact that there is limited regular contact

between the groups, which additionally limits the instance of acculturation, or the minority group

taking on characteristics of the dominant culture (Goncalves & Lemos, 2013; McAuliffe et al.,

2013). The isolation from general education programs leads to social exclusion, which is the

process by which individuals are blocked from or otherwise unable to attain rights, opportunities,

and resources for a better life such as employment and education (Riddell and Watson, 2003).

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This also contributes to the aforementioned cultural deficit theory. If there was no concern for

extreme misbehavior and possible danger to other students, the Bridges students would

assimilate best in general education classrooms where they would receive more positive

treatment from peers and have a better overall chance of success as adults.

Both counselors and teachers are increasingly expected to be culturally-competent,

meaning that they need to be properly prepared to work with clients/students from diverse

backgrounds, to be aware of, and to appropriately address those who are at a disadvantage.

According to a study performed by Marin (2014), most general education teachers feel that they

need additional training to work in an inclusive school system as their general teacher education

does not provide the skills necessary to work with students of special needs. This creates an

interaction strain for many teachers (and can be applied to counselors, parents, and peers as

well), which occurs when a person without a disability experiences anxiety due to a lack of

knowing the appropriate way to treat those with disabilities (McAuliffe, et al., 2013). The

majority of teachers learn about ADHD exclusively from informal sources, and when special

needs training is provided in a formal context, it is frequently limited only to the autism spectrum

(Lawrence et al., 2017).

Parents of special needs children also identify with a lack of training on how best to

approach disabilities. One study showed that these parents often have feelings of hopelessness

and depression; these conditions are relieved with training that provides care techniques,

especially solution-oriented, comprehensive, and holistic approaches (Akdogan, 2016).

Okechukwu (2013) offers some strategies for teachers of special needs students, but these

can also be helpful for counselors and parents of children in the same group. Such strategies

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include using assistive technology, helping the student make connections with prior knowledge,

providing ample feedback, graphic organizers/visual aids, cooperative learning (working with

peers), and creative assessments (offering alternatives to standardized tests, such as making

models and giving performances).

Discussion

People with disabilities have inadvertently formed a culture where there is a sense of

comradery for feeling discriminated against and having a lack of access to resources to help them

find success. One major aspect of disability culture is ableism, where those with disabilities are

discriminated against for being disabled. At Granite Mountain School, the students in the

Bridges class do not yet show evidence of having awareness of ableism, but it is likely that their

awareness will increase with experience.

Our society is steadily moving toward a culture that embraces differences rather than

seeing a disability as being something that needs to be corrected. This challenges the idea that

disability is an ailment, and suggests that it is just a variation of normalcy. The Bridges class

does appear to have their own sense of what is normal, as no single student particularly stands

out from the rest of the class.

ADHD is one of the most common special needs in public schools, which was a prevalent

feature of the students in the Bridges class. Contrary to the author’s original thoughts, ADHD is

determined to be socially constructed. That is, one is socialized to view it as being problematic.

All of the students are currently male, but they are open to having females in the class, if needed.

It is likely that some females in the school would benefit from the Bridges program, but teachers,

staff, and parents do not recognize any outward symptoms to warrant placing them in the

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program as it is more common for males to show these manifestations. Counselors, teachers, and

parents need to be alert to internal symptoms of attention deficit (rather than just external

symptoms, such as disruptive behavior, speaking out, et cetera) as many people go undiagnosed.

The inclusive education model has been shown by many studies to promote feelings of

self-worth in the special needs students and also more positive perceptions from peers. Most

public schools around the world are transitioning into an inclusive model. Counselors and

teachers can help those with disabilities by fostering a feeling of inclusion.

Conclusion

The purpose of this paper was to examine the social constructs around disability culture

to better inform helping professionals, particularly those in mental health and education

professions. Counselors and teachers need to be adequately prepared for an increasingly diverse

population, particularly for a growing prevalence of those with disabilities. Disability culture

includes all races, religions, ages, genders, and social classes. In addition to other forms of

discrimination, ableism is one that is often overlooked, and counselors and teachers need to

check their biases and make every effort to increase awareness of those with disabilities and the

struggles they face.

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References

Akdogan, R. (2016). A holistic approach to cope with depression and hopelessness for parents of

special needs children. International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, 8(2),

134-150. doi:10.20489/intjecse.284594

Brown, S. E. (2015). Disability culture and the ADA. Disability Studies Quarterly, 35(3).

Burns, G.L., & Becker, S.P. (2017). Sluggish cognitive tempo and attention-deficit/hyperactivity

disorder (ADHD) inattention in the home and school contexts: Parent and teacher

invariance and cross-setting validity. Psychological Assessment, 29(2), 209-220.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pas0000325

Boys Town (2017). Boys town: Saving children, healing families. Retrieved

from: http://www.boystown.org/about/Pages/default.aspx

Cheng, Y., Shein, P.P., Chiou, W. (2012). Escaping the impulse to immediate gratification: The

prospect concept promotes a future-oriented mindset, prompting an inclination towards

delayed gratification. British Journal of Psychology, 103, 129-141. doi:10.1111/j.2044-

8295.2011.02067.x

Chinn, S. (2010). Addressing the unproductive classroom behaviours of students with special

needs. London, England: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Goncalves, T., & Lemos, M. (2014). Personal and social factors influencing students’ attitudes

towards peers with special needs. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 112, 949-

955. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1253

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http://www.boystown.org/about/Pages/default.aspx


Lawrence, K., Estrada, R., & McCormick, J. (2017). Teachers’ experiences with and perceptions

of students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 36,

141-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2017.06.010

Lysaght, R., Ouellete-Kuntz, H., & Lin, C. (2010). Untapped potential: Perspectives on the

employment of people with intellectual disability. IOS Press, 41, 409-422.

doi:10.3233/WOR-2012-1318

Marin, E. (2014). Are today’s general education teachers prepared to face inclusion in the

classroom? Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 142, 702-707.

McAuliffe, G. (2013). Culturally alert counseling: a comprehensive introduction (2nd ed.). Los

Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

Okechukwu, F.O. (2016). Special needs children acquisition of knowledge. International

Journal of Institute of African Studies.

Riddell, S., & Watson, N. (2014). Disability, culture and identity. New York, NY: Rutledge.

Rohde, L.A., Szobot, C., Polanczyk, G., Schmitz, M., Martins, S., & Tramontina, S. (2005).

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a diverse culture: Do research and clinical

findings support the notion of a cultural construct for the disorder? Biol Psychiatry, 57,

1436-1441. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.01.042

Sensoy, O., & DiAngelo, R. J. (2012). Is everyone really equal? An introduction to key concepts

in social justice education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2017.06.010


Weiland, C. (2016). Impacts of the Boston prekindergarten program on the school readiness of

young children with special needs. Developmental Psychology, 52(11), 1763-1776.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0000168

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Appendix A: Service-Learning Reflection Journal

At the start of my service-learning project, I feel very apprehensive as I am introverted

and do not do well working in groups of people or noisy environments. Because I am new to my

city and know very little about what is available in the area, I struggled to find an appropriate

service-learning site. I found online research and talking with a few locals to be fairly

unhelpful. The area is very conservative and Christian. The small amount of racial diversity

consists of mostly whites, a group of Native Americans, and few Latin Americans. Having lived

on a Native American reservation for one year, I knew that working with Native Americans

would not be a new experience for me. I opted to work at Granite Mountain School in the special

needs (or what they call “bridges”) classroom as I felt that this would provide the most exposure

to a population that I have very little experience with. I will be helping with day-to-day activities

in the classroom as the nature of the class requires a lot of adult supervision.

During my first week at the school, I was overwhelmed and very stressed out. My first

impression upon walking into the classroom was, “I do not belong here.” One student was

running around uncontrollably, another student was making fun of my name, and the others

were, thankfully, sitting in their desks, although not very well on-task.

The class consists of only about seven or eight students. Racially speaking, about half of

them are white and the other half are mixed races. They are all boys, although I was told that

they occasionally get girls in the class, too. It is interesting to me that girls are rarely in need of

such special attention at school, which is something I intend to study more later on. They all

come from “broken homes,” meaning that their family/home situation is not considered to be

normal or healthy.

The class follows a program called “Boys Town.” This program is primarily for

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residential school programs across the country, but some school districts (such as this one) adopt

their principles and employ them in special needs settings. The idea of the program is mainly to

teach the students social skills, as the teachers and administrators have determined that these

students are severely lacking in the ability to communicate appropriately with other people and

behave in a civilized manner. Students are in this classroom full-time until the teacher

determines that their social competency is enough that they can re-enter the general education

program. This can take several months or even years. I do feel a bit uncomfortable about this

program as it suggests that these children are not acceptable the way they are and that we are

trying to force them into a mainstream ideal.

I learned my first week that I am not at all assertive. I really struggle to discipline

someone else’s children, partly because I do not know the school or the particular classroom

rules that are already established and I do not want to contradict them and confuse the students. I

also feel that my philosophy in dealing with children is fairly unorthodox and probably would

not be considered appropriate for a public-school setting as my view is more in line with holistic

and individualized educational experiences. Because my wife is a 6th grade teacher and because

I studied sociology for my undergraduate degree, we talk a lot about the ideal alternative

education and things that need to be changed for a better future. If I had my own children, I

know that I could be assertive and more confident. However, in a public setting, I do not want to

get myself into trouble with false accusations that we so often hear about in the news (especially

in regard to adult males).

The first week, I was merely supervising and observing while I was still learning about

the students and about the program. The stress level in the classroom varies by the day. I am

most interested in these students’ personal lives and where they get their culture and

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worldview. I am learning students’ names and of their home situation. At least one student lives

in a homeless shelter. Another student is in Prescott in hiding from his biological father because

his father threatened to kill himself and his child. Another student is a “crack baby.” This makes

me feel a bit helpless because I wish I could do more for these children, but I am not legally able

to do so. This kind of makes me wish I went into social work, but even then, I recognize that my

hands would be tied. The second day was better than the first because the students were better-

behaved. They have an incentive program for good behavior where they can earn snacks and

computer time at the end of each day. I worry about the snacks that are offered as they are far

from being healthy (candy, sugary drinks, and chips) and most undoubtedly contribute to their

poor behavior and poor performance. That may be why the teacher decided not to offer the

snacks until right before school lets out for the day, but then I wonder how this affects their

home life when they do leave the school.

So far, the students seem to generally have the same culture. This is to be expected at this

age (9-11) as children tend to mimic each other’s values and behavior as a means of fitting in and

making friends. This is probably also an example of acculturation, although given by their

speech and the way they dress, I still do not observe an indication that any of these children have

a different culture at home. This does make it more difficult for me to assess their personal

situations and how they perceive the world. It seems that if we were in a more urban setting with

more minorities, some of the students would retain their ethnic roots a little more and it would be

more obvious.

In the second week, I began helping the students with academic work, which means that I

am working more with them one-on-one. I found that this was much better for me than

supervising as I do not feel so overwhelmed anymore and I am able to get to know the children

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individually. There was one student who had some behavioral issues so bad that I had to call the

school counselor and the student had to be put into a padded room for a couple of hours, which is

adjacent to the classroom. I was a little surprised that they lock students in this room, but I see no

alternative when the student is harming his/herself or others. This room is also used for students

who are over-stimulated and need a quiet break away from their classmates. I do personally find

the desire to use it on occasion.

The third week started out as a struggle because a couple of the students were

uncooperative. One was beating his laptop because he could not remember his password; I’m

surprised that the computer did not break. Another student was just sitting at his desk with a

blank stare. I was asked to help him with his work, but even though he had his worksheet in front

of him and had the answer pulled up on his computer screen, he refused to write it down. I could

not help but think that this is probably how it is with some clients in a counseling setting; they

come to the session, they bring any relevant materials to what was previously discussed, yet they

do not try. I am sure I will learn how to deal with people like this in another counseling class, but

I am wondering the best way to get someone motivated who seems to be ignoring me. Because it

was Monday, I wonder if something happened to him over the weekend. One of the aides told

me that he really struggles with an attention deficit, although before now, he seemed to be very

on-task.

My last two days at the site were easier. This seems to be attributed to the fact that I am

now more familiar with the classroom rules and procedures, that the students know who I am and

are beginning to trust me, and also because more students were absent. The higher adult-to-

student ratio means that the class was more in control, however, I still feel uneasy about the idea

of mainstreaming students into what some perceive as the ideal. I agree that everyone should

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respect each other, but I struggle to identify with the idea that each student should follow a one-

size-fits-all curriculum rather than one that is tailored more to their individual interests and

talents.

I look back at this experience and see how I have grown. The purpose of this assignment

was to deepen my understanding of a culture or cultures different from my own. I feel that I

succeeded in this purpose as I have observed students who, although some of them share the

same race as me, identify differently with the way they view life. It has been interesting to see

what it is like for these students to struggle through school with their disability or

disabilities. The empathy I gained for these students is astounding as I noticed students trying

with a concerted effort to do well only to fall short of what is considered satisfactory. I gathered

that not all of these students have a particular psychiatric diagnosis, but they do all come from

troubled backgrounds, meaning that their family life is considered to be unstable in some

fashion. Their lack of stability at home does seem to adversely affect their performance at school

and also how they interact with others.

I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with some students individually

as it helped me get to know them more personally. This also taught me how to interact with them

in such a way to more effectively make them feel appreciated and to meet their needs. I worked

with one student in particular quite frequently and came to better understand his attention

deficit. For the most part, he was well-behaved, but most often not on-task. This meant that I had

to sit next to him and walk him through his assignments, step-by-step. It was difficult to assess

internal negative influences on his ability to focus as it did not seem appropriate to ask him

personal questions. However, external negative influences seemed abundant: auditory stimuli,

visual stimuli, and social influences.

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I did not get to know the other students nearly as well, but observed that some had anger

issues, some with low self-esteem, and one or two who were generally kind and well-behaved. I

noticed that when someone got noisy or misbehaved in the classroom, others would join

in. Conversely, when the classroom was quiet, most or all of the students would remain that

way. It seemed particularly helpful when the teacher would play soft classical music. There was

a noticeable difference in the students’ ability to focus and the way they interacted with each

other.

Overall, I found this assignment to be both enriching and very challenging. My chosen

service-learning site presented a myriad of cultural exposure. Some cultures were difficult to

distinguish from others in this context, but the experience opened my eyes to cultural differences,

nonetheless. The most prevalent culture was that of children with academic and social disabilities

in general, but I recognize that many other cultural values and social influences can affect each

of these children. I would have liked to have gone deeper into understanding the students

individually and their personal and family situations as this would have helped me more clearly

understand where they were coming from. I was afforded some confidential information which I

was purposely vague about including in this paper. Because this was in a public-school context

and because I was not a paid professional with the school district, it did not seem appropriate to

pry for more information.

Following this experience, I notice that I have gained a new interest in understanding the

lives of others, which I predict will serve me greatly in the counseling profession. My ability to

empathize has grown and I expect even more growth as I continue in my studies and my

experience in a counseling context.

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Appendix B: “Thank You” Letter to the Site Supervisors

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Appendix C: Service Hours Log

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codymcox.files.wordpress.com · Web viewThe six most common special needs in classrooms today are: attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD),