What's Language and Culture Got to Do With It? Working Effectively With Families of Indigenous Children With Special Educational Needs

• In Event: 61.069 - Shifting Native Early Childhood Education: Toward Justice and Inclusive Family Engagement at the Earliest Levels of Education

Abstract

This paper will examine the extant literature on the role of language and culture in working effectively with families of Indigenous children who have been identified as having special educational needs (e.g., developmental delays, speech-language impairments). Although American Indian children are significantly more likely than their peers to be identified as needing special education services, few studies have been conducted that explicitly explore the relationship between language and culture and the successful provision of programs and services for these children and their families. Failure to incorporate culturally appropriate and relevant practices places these children and their families at risk. Drawing on the lessons learned from the extant research or lack thereof, recommendations for future research, policy, and practice, aimed at meeting the needs of Indigenous parents and families will also be presented.

Author

• Susan C. Faircloth, University of North Carolina - Wilmington