THE SILENCE OF INCLUSION 1
The Silence of Inclusion: Examining Immigrant Families in Disability Research
Kelsey Giffin
School of Education, Liberty University
The Silence of Inclusion: Examining Immigrant Families in Disability Research
In Barriers to Service Access for Immigrant Families of Children With Developmental
Disabilities: A Scoping Review, Xu et al. (2022) examine the multifaceted barriers immigrant
families face when accessing developmental disability services for their children. Xu et al. (2022)
conducted a comprehensive study, identifying recurring obstacles that immigrant families face,
such as language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, limited availability, and systematic
fragmentation (between schools and clinical facilities). Xu et al. (2022) argued that these
THE SILENCE OF INCLUSION 2
barriers result in limited access to services and reduced trust in institutions. The article
concludes by highlighting the need for culturally responsive services and improved cross-sector
collaboration to support immigrant families more effectively.
Xu et al. (2022) conducted a comprehensive literature review to identify the systemic
challenges in communication that prevent immigrant families from accessing disability services.
The scoping review identified major external barriers but failed to adequately represent the
voices and personal experiences of immigrant parents. The research focused primarily on
provider and system-level perspectives, which fail to reveal how immigrant families experience
these challenges. The study lacks the deep cultural and emotional context that first-hand
narratives would have provided. The authors presented practical recommendations for practice
and policy, which stem from existing data and demonstrated their dedication to equity.
Upon reading this article, it really brought a lot of emotions out because I have
experienced firsthand what it is like to work with immigrant families in education. The special
education system has presented challenges to numerous immigrant parents. Due to language
and cultural differences, this causes misunderstandings during IEP meetings, especially if there
is not a translator available. The article supported my conviction that schools need to establish
authentic trust-based relationships with families instead of simply translating documents. The
research by Xu et al. (2022) prompts schools to move away from compliance-based methods
toward decision-making processes that prioritize immigrant family voices and dignity.
THE SILENCE OF INCLUSION 3
References
Xu, Y., Zeng, W., Wang, Y., & Wang, K. (2022). Barriers to service access for immigrant
families of children with developmental disabilities: A scoping review. Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities, 60(5), 382–395. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-60.5.382
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
