Cultural Immersion Project
majkelly73
CulturalImmersionProjectPPT-KellyM..pptxDeaf Culture Melissa Kelly Albany State University Multicultural Counseling Dr. Gooden-Alexis October 28, 2020
Hello, My name is Melissa Kelly and I chose to dive in to the Deaf Culture. I was excited learn about their culture to increase awareness of their cultural values and biases.
1
IMMERSION GROUP CHOICE
Deaf Culture
People who are deaf are normally diagnosed at birth. In the past, the diagnosis took much longer due to a lack of technology.
Deaf Culture Difference Hearing Culture
The major difference in the hearing culture and the death culture is their ability to communicate effectively.
2
IMMERSION GROUP EVENT
Educational Classroom Learning
Alex, who is deaf, and Hannah are students at our high school and their mother, Sylvia, is Alex’s special education teacher. I was able to attend class with Alex and Sylvia to see how he interacts and learns each day.
Bible Study
In addition to the classroom setting, Sylvia and her husband host a Virtual Bible Study for the Deaf. I was able to join in with them during one of their sessions. Attached is the link if you would like to watch it.
3
CHARACTERISTICS AND STRENGTHS
The Deaf community have strong bonds.
Deaf people want to be seen as equals to hearing people. According to Alex, “Deaf people can do anything that hearing people can do except hear”. They want the world to see their communication as a legit language.
The ability and drive to work harder to find potential and gifts in all people.
Deaf family members are smart.
4
FAMILY STRUCTURE
Typically, more than 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents that know little to no sign language but only 2 to 3 percent of the population are deaf (Mitchell & Karchmer, 2004).
Alex is adopted by a two-parent family with three other children. Alex is the only one who is deaf. Every member of their family learned how to sign at an early age so they are able to communicate with Alex.
There are families with many generations of deafness. In those families, the bonds and communication are strong.
All the components of the BASC-3 are administered individually except the student observation system. The SOS is administered in a school setting. This assessment is available to be given manually or digitally. The administration times vary for each component. The TRS and PRS generally take 10-20 minutes each and the SRP takes approximately 30 minutes, whereas, the SDH could take 30 minutes or more to complete depending on their medical and family history (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2019). The SOS is 15 minutes of observation time in a group setting. The Norm Groups are general combined, general gender-specific, clinical combined, clinical gender-specific, ADHD combined, and ADHD gender-specific (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2019). An English and Spanish version is available for administration to all individuals ages 2-21 years in the United States regardless of their gender or cultural background. Also, there are norms for learning disabilities and ADHD special populations.
5
CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL VALUES
Most deaf children do not have access to religion.
There are few churches who offer interpreting services. Of those of do offer it, few have qualified/skilled interpreters to make the message clear.
Sylvia and her husband have raised their children in a Baptist church. They have been able to interpret for Alex so that he can receive the message throughout his life.
The ratings produce different scales including composite, clinical and adaptive, and content scales. These measure maladaptive and behavioral strengths. The TRP and PRS rating scales are well suited to the recording of specific and observable positive and negative behaviors and emotions in different social and activity settings for preschool, child, and adolescent levels (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2019). These range from aggression, attention problems, and hyperactivity to social skills and executive functioning. “The SRP scales record what goes on in the inner world of the child; they are best suited to report thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and internal reactions to people and events, which give information on the respondent’s position on various personality “(Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2019).
6
SPECIFIC CHALLENGES
Sadly, due to a lack of bonding/communication, deaf children tend to look outside the family for role models. They attach themselves to people who can communicate with them.
Many times, deaf people are misunderstood. Without communication, frustration builds and a deaf child’s behavior often is misunderstood.
One issue tends to be inclusiveness. Lack of being included because they feel like an outsider.
Deaf people struggle with finding jobs due to the language berries.
The BASC-3 assessment uses T-scores and percentiles: T-scores describe the distance from the mean, and percentiles describe rarity where the relationship between the two varies slightly across the scales (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2019). This is with the median score of 50 with a standard deviation of 10. Those with two standard deviations above this would be considered extremely high. This shows an increased behavioral problem under the clinical scale but strong positive skills under the adaptive scale.
7
EXPECTATIONS REGARDING COUNSELING
Counselors are expected to provide counseling to any person without prejudice. According to the ASCA Ethical Standards, A.1.f., school counselors must have respect for students’ and families’ cultural background and exercise great care to avoid imposing personal beliefs or values in one’s religion, culture, or ethnicity ( ASCA, 2016).
Even though the counselor may be uncomfortable addressing the implications of being deaf, a counselor should never lower their expectations of what the client is capable of doing.
The counselor should be genuine, empathetic and have a positive regard towards their Deaf clients (Gelso & Carter, 1994; Meara & Patton, 1994).
Scoring for the BASC-3 can be done by hand or by computer. The items receive a score based on the scale that it is under. Each response, never, sometimes, often, and almost always, is assigned points, 0, 1, 2, and 3, consecutively. A raw score is determined by adding all the points for each scale and then converting the sum to a normative score, which is T-scores and percentiles (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2019). These can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses. The overall score reporting includes the overall behavioral symptoms index (TRS and PRS) and emotional symptoms index (SRP), where the subscore reporting includes externalizing problems, internalizing problems, adaptive skills, and school problems (“Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC), 2015). The average T-scores range form 40-60. A high score greater than 60 on the clinical scale suggests concerns in that behavior, but T-scores above 60 on the adaptive scale signifies the strengths of that skill.
8
IMPLICATIONS FOR WORKING WITH THE DEAF
In evaluating and addressing the ethical considerations, counselors must consider the APA’s Code of Ethics and other relevant issues necessary to provide ethical treatment (Boness, 2016).
In order to provide appropriate and ethical psychological services, the APA recognizes the need to understand culture among diverse populations (APA, 2014).
A challenge of counseling a deaf person is being able to communicate effectively. If a counselor does not know how to sign, an interpreter would be necessary.
The BASC-3 is offered in English and Spanish. The translation to other languages should be considered to reach more students in other cultures. Another consideration is the reading levels of the parents and students. There is currently an audio version for those with reading level deficiencies.
A counselor has a responsibility in selecting the appropriate assessment, administering the assessment correctly, and interpreting the results. Any deviations from this would be unethical according to the “ACA Code of Ethics”. Counselors should be diligent when selecting an assessment instrument. Code E.6.a. Appropriateness of Instruments says “Counselors should carefully consider the validity, reliability, psychometric limitations, and appropriateness of instruments, and use multiple forms of assessment, data, and/or instruments in forming conclusions, diagnoses, or recommendations” (American Counseling Association, 2014). When administering an assessment, counselors need to be consistent and fair to all students. Code E.7.a. Administration Conditions says “Counselors should administer assessments under the same conditions that were established in their standardization” (American Counseling Association, 2014). Also, the counselor should be able to provide a professional interpretation of the results. Code E.9.a. Reporting says “When counselors report assessment results, they should consider the client’s personal and cultural background, the level of the client’s understanding of the results, and the impact of the results on the client” (American Counseling Association, 2014). Additionally, it is noted that a counselor should have relevant training in scoring and interpreting the BASC-3 to be in compliance with the ACA Codes.
9
REFLECTION OF MY EXPERIENCE
Watching this family trying to communicate was interesting but challenging. It was challenging to me due to the fact that I do not know sign language. Therefore, I could not understand what they were saying unless Sylvia said it out loud. It was interesting to observe the interaction that they have with their teacher and a fellow students in the classroom. Some of them could communicate with him but the majority of them could not understand.
The Bible study was very informational since I was able to listen to the interpreter talk while they signed. . However, at times, I would get distracted during the message watching Sylvia’s hands. I would have to force myself to get back to the message.
The BASC-3 is both a reliable and valid assessment with a high internal consistency and test re-test reliability. Most coefficients for the subscales and composites exceed 0.80 and are sufficiently reliable for application to diagnostic and treatment issues (“Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC)”, 2015). The inter-rater reliability of the composite scores ranged from .18 to .82 (Tan, 2007). For validity evidence based on internal structure, factor analysis revealed that the items had moderate to high loadings on their factors (Tan, 2007). Throughout the assessment to ensure the validity of it, there are components that flag any inconsistency in the answers. It offers a number of scales that help to detect threats to the validity of the obtained responses, such as inattentiveness, positive or negative response sets, or a lack of understanding of the items (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2019).
10
REFERENCES
American School Counselor Association (2016). Ethical Standards for School Counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf
Boness C. L. (2016). Treatment of Deaf Clients: Ethical Considerations for Professionals in Psychology. Ethics & behavior, 26(7), 562–585. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2015.1084929
Gelso, C. J., & Carter, J. A. (1994). Components of the psychotherapy relationship: Their interaction and unfolding during treatment. Journal of Counseling and Development, 41(4), 296 - 306.
From the information presented in this paper, the BASC-3 is a highly recommended, viable, and reliable instrument used in counseling. The three-level perspectives of a child’s behavior and emotions are valuable in predicting problems and challenges. It is an appropriate assessment used for developing IEPs and planning interventions for a student.
11
REFERENCES
Meara, N.M., & Patton, M.J. (1994). Contributions to the working alliance in the practice of career counseling. Career Development Quarterly, 43, 161-177.
Mitchell RE, Karchmer MA. (2004). Chasing the mythical ten percent: Parental hearing status of deaf and hard of hearing students in the United States Sign Language Studies. 4(2):138-163.
From the information presented in this paper, the BASC-3 is a highly recommended, viable, and reliable instrument used in counseling. The three-level perspectives of a child’s behavior and emotions are valuable in predicting problems and challenges. It is an appropriate assessment used for developing IEPs and planning interventions for a student.
12
