Affirming Disability: Strengths-Based Portraits of Culturally Diverse Families

Providing both a theoretical framework and practical strategies, this resource will help teachers, counselors, and related service providers develop understanding and empathy to improve outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with disabilities. The text features narrative portraits of six immigrant families and their children with disabilities, including their cultural histories and personal perspectives regarding assessment, diagnosis, Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, and other instances in which families engaged with the special education process. Using guiding questions for reflection and “Talk Back” comments from preservice students throughout the text, readers are encouraged to reflect on their own positionality and to develop nuanced and dynamic understandings of CLD children, youth, and families—countering persistent and stereotypical deficit views.

“A long-overdue textbook that proactively contributes to preparing teacher candidates to know more about and better understand the diverse students they will teach.”
—From the Foreword by Maria de Lourdes B. Serpa, professor emerita, Lesley University

“Accessible and innovative. It will be valuable to students, teachers, and family members.”
—Philip Ferguson, professor emeritus, Chapman University

“This powerful and much-needed book highlights the cultural misunderstandings and systemic inequities that can occur when disability intersects with race.”
—Maya Kalyanpur, University of San Diego