Culturally Appropriate Special Education Services for Arab American Children with Disabilities Jamal Al Khateeb Professor of Special Education The University of Jordan Visiting Professor The Ohio State University September 22, 2015

Introduction Over the past 5 years, I’ve been curious about Arab American children with disabilities. I could only find 3 theses.

Introduction cont … This motivated me to review literature and write about this population. Alkhateeb, J., Hadidi, M., & Alkhateeb, A. (2015). Addressing the unique needs of Arab American children with disabilities. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(8), 2432-2440. AlKhateeb, J., Hadidi, M., & Alkhateeb, A. (2014). Arab American persons with disabilities and their families: A culturally appropriate approach for counselors. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 42, 232-247.

Background Arab Americans come from an enormously diverse cultural heritage that includes different religions, languages, nationalities, education levels, and social classes.

In the US Population Census, people of Arabic descent are classified in the White category. The outcome is an inaccurate count.

Arab Immigration to US Arab immigration to the US was in three distinct waves:

First Wave (1880s–1920s) Most Arab immigrants during this period came to the US from what was known as Greater Syria (present-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel). The majority of those immigrants was Christian.

Second Wave (1948–1965) This immigration wave included significantly more diverse groups form a greater number of Arabic-speaking countries. These immigrants were more educated and were both Christian and Muslim.

Third Wave (1970s–Present) This wave is the most diverse in terms of country of origin, religion and socio-economic status. This wave is also distinguished by its high percentage of war refugees.

Population Size The 2011 American Community Survey (ACS), reported that there were about 1.8 million Arab Americans living in the US. However, most other sources estimate the number to be 3.5-5 million Arab Americans. All sources agree that the number of Arab Americans has grown significantly in the last 15 years.

Demographics of the Arab American Population The US cities with largest Arab American populations are Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC. The Arab American population as a whole is quite young. Arab American families are, on average, larger than non-Arab American families and smaller than families in Arab countries. Arab Americans typically marry at a younger age than non-Arabs.

Demographics cont … Arab Americans have a higher level of educational achievement than the average U.S. population. Arab Americans are similar to the national average in terms of work and income.

Demographics cont … The majority of Arab Americans (70%) are Christian. Some studies have suggested that Arabs (especially those who are Muslim) find acculturation into the American culture to be more difficult than many other immigrant groups.

Stereotypes Negative stereotypes, misinformation, overgeneralizations, and misconceptions of Arabs have historically been presented through the American media and popular culture in various forms. A recent poll conducted by the Arab American Institute revealed that Americans’ opinions of Arabs have grown worse in recent years.

Some Common Misconceptions about Arabs and Arab Americans Most Arab people are nomads, live in tents, and ride camels. Arab countries are nothing but desert and oil. All Arabs are Muslims. Arab people are uneducated. The Arab world is backward and uncivilized. All Arab women are veiled. Arabs and Muslims are terrorists. Arabs and Muslims are evil.

Arab American Culture The family is the basic unit of social organization in Arab society. Family roles, size, relations, and decision making are all changing. Gender and age are still the most two important factors that determine roles of family members in Arab culture.

Culture cont … American families with Arab roots tend to maintain extended family networks.  For most Muslim Arab Americans, sex roles and inter-gender relations are important. Arab culture is generally a high-contact culture in terms of physical contact and proximity.

Disability among the Arab American Population As the size of this population increases, so does the number of Arab American children with disabilities. This implies that special education and related service providers in the US are increasingly likely to work with an Arab American student.

Disability among the Arab American Population cont … Numbers of Arab Americans having disabilities remain unknown. One can only offer a rough guesstimate of their numbers.

Disability among the Arab American cont … If the data on disability prevalence in the US is applied to the Arab American population, a rough estimate of the number of Arab Americans of all ages having disabilities ranges from 336,600 to 691,900; and the total number of Arab American school-aged children ranges from 23,400 to 48,200.

Culturally Appropriate Special Education Services for Arab Americans

Focus on Family In the Arab culture, the individual’s situation reflects on the entire family; thus, the impact of disability on the family may be significant. Counselors should build trust with family members, not just with the child having a disability.

Considerations Related to Attitudes and Help-Seeking Among Arab Americans Disability in Arab societies is more negatively perceived than in Western societies. Because of these negative attitudes, Arab Americans may seek counseling and other supportive services as a last resort.

Parental Stress The stress of raising a child with disability in Arab culture may suggest an increased need for support and services to Arab American families having members with disabilities.

Parent Involvement Service providers need to know that Arab family involvement in special education programs may be relatively limited.

Navigating Special Education Services Many Arab Americans may find special education and related services in the US complicated and confusing.

Communication Styles Service providers also need to be aware of the differing communication styles of Arab American families. Most Arab Americans do not clearly state and emphasize what they want others to know. Instead, they tend to be less direct and depend highly on subtle messages that include use of body language, facial expression, and timing of silence.

Considerations Related to Assessment of Arab American Children Information should be gathered about an Arab American child’s English language proficiency during assessment. culture-fair assessment tools should be used.

Assessment cont … Arab American parents struggle with accepting their children’s placement in special education settings; thus, extensive work with Arab American families may be particularly important during initial stages of referral and assessment.

Considerations Related to Arab American Parent Involvement in Their Children's Education In general, mothers are more involved than fathers in their children’s education. Arab American parents tend to be actively involved with their children’s learning in the home environment, their involvement with their child’s school is usually less.

Religion-Related Considerations Consideration needs to be given to the role of religion in moderating the impact of mental health problems or disability on Arab American individuals and families, whether Muslim or Christian.

Considerations Related to Stereotypes Given the interest in multicultural education within the United States, special education service providers must ensure that Arab American persons with disabilities are treated equitably and without prejudice. In order to understand and help clients, counselors and other service providers must overcome their own prejudices, misconceptions, and knowledge gaps.