Georgia State University Series:

Early Intervention with Children who are Deaf and

Hard of Hearing

Part 1, Presentation 4

July 2001

Cultural Sensitivity

And Early Intervention

Culture Defined

“Set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterize a group.”

What is Cultural Sensitivity?

Tolerance Acceptance Accommodation Assimilation

Discussion

Deaf Culture

Other Hearing Cultures

Verbal Communication vs.

Non-Verbal Communication

Discussion (Continued)

Values

Multiple Perspectives

Deaf Culture

Identification

Common Language

Shared Experiences

Identification

Familial

Societal

Language

ASL– Ability to freely express oneself

– Freely understand others

– Allow interaction with others

Experiences

Common heritage

Proud cultural heritage

Develop a sense of identity, integrity and belonging

Other Hearing Cultures

Increased Diversity

Impact of verbal and non-verbal behaviors

Values

Verbal Communication

WordsConcepts expressed as

– Sound (speech)– Sign– Print

Non-Verbal Communication

Kinesics– Bodily movements such as headshake or

gesture

Proxemics– Personal space

Haptics– Touching behaviors

Non-Verbal (continued)

Artifacts– Materials created to communicate certain

messages

Silence– Amount of time obligated to talk to someone

Time– Continuum

Values

Environment vs. sense of fate or destiny

Change as positive/natural vs. valuation of stability, tradition and continuity

Time as precious commodity vs. human interaction

Equality/fairness vs. hierarchy, rank & status

Values (continued)

Self-help & initiative vs. birthright & inheritance

Individualism & independence vs. group welfare & dependence

Competition vs. cooperation

Future vs. past orientation

Values (continued)

Action & work vs. “being” orientation

Informality vs. formality

Directness vs. indirectness

Practicality vs. idealism, theory and beauty

Materialism & acquisition vs. spirituality

Multiple Perspectives

Be knowledgeable in the application of the philosophy being espoused by the teacher education program and

Perspective (continued)

Be able to identify how and where to gather information about other philosophies, modes and languages that may be encountered

Roadblocks to Multiple Pathways Pedagogy

5 basic mind-sets– Modality bias– Language bias– Stepping on other’s toes– Blaming the child– Betraying our roots

Modality Bias

The assumption the WE have the right to choose the modality through which a child is going to learn best.

Language Bias

Which language can the child most easily access in all its complexities? This is the important question to answer.

Stepping on Toes

Avoid being afraid to step on toes when necessary and know when toes must be stepped on.

Blame the Child

A child should not be blamed for his/her failure to use a given modality, language, or technology to a level that satisfies us.

Betray our Roots

Develop an open mind to learn rapidly from all experiences instead of leaning toward a particular bias, because you learned it that way.

Conclusion

REMEMBERNot just dealing with a set of ears but with

a Child and Child lives within the context of a unique

family culture.

Resources

Easterbrooks, S., Ed.D (2001) Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Teleconference