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Necessary Information for Counseling Persons with a Disability

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Necessary Information for Counseling Persons with a Disability

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1) People having some form of physical, mental or communication disability make up the largest minority group in the nation, accounting for 1 in 5 people in the U.S. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012b)
2) Types of conditions might include:  orthopedic, visual, speech and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, cancer, diabetes,  mental retardation, emotional illness, specific learning abilities, etc.
3) Types of disabilities include:
A.  Communicative - includes blindness, deafness, and speech difficulties
B.  Mental - learning, intellectual or developmental disability, mental or
emotional condition
C.  Physical - difficulty walking, climbing stairs, lifting over 10 pounds, back or
spine problems, epilepsy, and other physically related issues
More specific information to know on issues facing those with a disability:

Deaf Population - 46 to 60 percent deal with such issues as unemployment, substance abuse, mental health issues, and/or criminal behavior and only half of those receive the mental health services they need (Pollard, 1996)

Visual Impairment - One special need of clients with visual impairment may be just getting to the office, place of counseling.  If traveling without a companion, they will need specific instructions on how to get the the office and where to go once they get there

Learning Disability - Many adults do not even know that they have a learning disability because it went undetected through their school years or they attended an underfunded school that did not have the resources to get them tested. Not having this identification and the resulting accommodations throughout their school years could cause low self-esteem or other mental health issues because of the negative experiences they have had with their educational experience.

Mobility Impairments - It is important to make sure that the room is easily accessed by those who are mobility impaired as well as being flexible with the time schedule, since unforeseen obstacles may cause these clients to be late to the session

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Relevant Information in Educating Persons with a Disability

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Relevant Information in Educating Persons with a Disability

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Students with a disability have to face stereotyping and discrimination just as any other minority group would.  This is referred to as "ableism."  Some stereotypes might assume that those with a disability are helpless, childlike, deserve pity, always happy and content, need charity, etc.  Many people also assume that someone with a physical disability is also affected mentally and/or emotionally as well.

Students who are hearing impaired may or may not lip read and may or may not use sign language. Other students who have been given hearing aides or attachments to cochlear implants may be ashamed to use them. It is important to make sure to have the full attention of the student before speaking to them, speak slowly looking in their face and use gestures or visuals to help illustrate the main points you want to get across. It may also be helpful to have the student repeat or write down what you have said in order to check for understanding.

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Effectively Communicating with Educators and Administrators on Students with a Disability

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Effectively Communicating with Educators and Administrators on Students with a Disability

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Bullying

Students with a disability may experience bullying at all levels of their education.  For instance, students in special education classes may have others tell them that they are in the "dummy" classes or assume that they aren't able to do things that regular education students can do.

Creating a school climate where all are accepted is an important task for educators and administrators.  Making sure that students are welcoming and inclusive of students with disabilities is an important step in helping these students to have a meaningful and productive educational experience.

Educators and administrators must keep an eye out and be prepared to intervene if students with disabilities are being bullied or singled out for any reason.

Abuse

In working with students with a disability, it is important to be watchful of any signs of physical or sexual abuse that could possible be occurring inside or outside of the home.

Courtois (1988) says that disabled children are more likely to be physically or sexually abused by their peers.

Students with a disability may not understand that they are being abused or may worry about their long-term care options if they are to report the abuse.

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Approaches to Counseling Interactions with Students with a Disability or their Parents

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Approaches to Counseling Interactions with Students with a Disability or their Parents

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Different cultures deal differently with those with disabilities in their culture. For instance, the African-American culture is known to be accepting of children with disabilities and makes the care of these children a community effort. Therefore, in working with African-American parents the services students receive may only need to be supporting what the family and community have already put into place.

Hispanic families who are low income may not have a full picture of all of the resources that are available to children with disabilities and may also not actively advocate for these services because of possible citizenship issues.  They may need additional assistance in helping to provide these services for children of Hispanic families.

Culture of Disabilities -- Unlike other cultural groups, most disabled children are not born to disabled parents, which means that they may have stronger ties to other members of their disability groups than their families.  For instance, a person with a hearing impairment may have learned their language not from their parents, but from another member of the deaf community, so this creates a strong bond between them and their community  but may take away from their bonding with parents, especially if parents have not learned to sign.

Phases families may go through when receiving a disability diagnosis:

Crisis - This is when families are first coming to terms with a diagnosis and adjusting to the changes that may happen in the family dynamic due to the diagnosis, including how this might affect the family's identity/dynamic.

Chronic - Coping with the day-to-day needs of the person with a disability and how this can have a mental and emotional affect when dealing with these issues long term.

Terminal - If the disability leads to terminal medical issues, the family may need helping coping with this diagnosis as well as preparing for death and the grief to follow.

Note: Families who have a child or children with a disability may commonly have issues of over-protectiveness. This may lead to concerns that need to be explored for both the parents and child as well as taking into consideration the cultural background of the family in order to be sensitive to the family's beliefs and individual needs.

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Resources, Strategies, Tools and Approaches to Counseling Persons with a Disability

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Resources, Strategies, Tools and Approaches to Counseling Persons with a Disability

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Tips to remember when counseling persons with a disability:

Counselors must address their own personal feelings and biases towards those with a disability before beginning a counseling relationship.

Feeling uncomfortable around or pity towards a person with a disability is not a helpful way to start a counseling relationship.

Counselors must be aware of the different types of discrimination, oppression, stigmas and challenges that are faced by those with a disability.

Those with a disability are typically undervalued in society and so counselors need to be prepared to identify and assist their clients in developing a sense of self-efficacy.

Counselors should be prepared to advocate for their clients with a disability in coordinating with community agencies and helping them to achieve their full potential.

Clients with a disability may have to deal with feelings of isolation, being abandoned, excluded, etc. These attitudes may have been internalized for years, leading to lower self-esteem. These issues should be addressed in order to help the client move forward and develop a sense of self-worth.

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Advice for Resistance regarding Students with Disabilities

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Advice for Resistance regarding Students with Disabilities

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With inclusion of students with disabilities, there may be some resistance to change from students, parents and even educators.  Rea (200) notes responses to use when facing this resistance, including the following:
1) While inclusion of students may offer up its share of challenges, students with disabilities should not be denied their rights to the opportunities afforded to them by a "general" education.
2) Teachers, both general and specialists, should be framed as being on the "front lines" and their hard work should be acknowledged as well as seen as a responsibility that is shared by the team.
3) Student successes should be acknowledged and shared by all involved parties.
4) By staying up-to-date with the most recent and effective practices, students will benefit and show continued progression.
5) If barriers are proactively searched for in advance, they may be addressed before the issues become chronic.
6) It is important to stay focused on goals like, "What will be best for these students?" and "How can we make that happen?"

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Courtois, C.A. (1988) Healing the incest wound.  New York Norton.
Orozco, G.L., Lee, W.M., Blando, J.A. and Shooshani, B. (2014).  Introduction to multicultural counseling for helping professionals. (Third Edition) Routledge.
Pollard, R.Q. (1996) Professional psychology and deaf people.  American Psychologist, 51 (4), 389-96.
Rea, P. (2000) Facing resistance to inclusion?  Try sending yourself some new messages.  William and Mary School of Education.  Retrieved from:  https://education.wm.edu/centers/ttac/resources/articles/inclusion/facingresist/index.php