PARENTING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN JORDAN Jamal Khateeb Professor of Special Education The University of Jordan Visiting Scholar Kent State University November, 2014

The Arab Family The Arab culture is described as collectivist, in which the individual has a close long-term commitment to the family. The family is the foundation of Arab society. It is the center of honor, loyalty, and reputation for Arabs. Arab societies are patriarchal and hierarchal where fathers and elders dominate.

The Arab family endorses mutual commitments and relationships of interdependence and reciprocity. Parents often remain financially supportive and responsible for children into adulthood; and when parents begin to age, children are expected to care for their parents. The family is the single most important social and economic institution for most Arabs. Arab society is built around the extended family system. During stressful times (crisis, illness, or disability diagnosis), parents can rely on the whole family, including the extended family, to help them cope. The extended family system provides emotional support and financial assistance, but may limit the individual's independence. Arab extended families usually spend a lot of time together, and are involved in each other’s lives.

Disability Disability places a set of extra demands or challenges to the family. Disability does not only affect the child but it affects all family members, especially parents. Parents of children with disabilities bear the responsibilities of other parents and also face special challenges and bear additional burdens owing to disability.

In the Arab culture, the individual's situation reflects on the entire family. Thus; the impact of disability on the family may be significant. Moreover; disability may have a profound impact particularly on mothers, who in Arab culture, like in many other cultures, assume the ultimate responsibility of caring for their children with disabilities.

Because many Arabs are over-involved with and over-protective of their family members, dependence in members with disabilities may be nurtured. As is true in other cultures, Arab parents experience a series of reactions upon diagnosis of a disability in their child. These include shock, denial, disbelief, anger, guilt, grief, and stress. For Arab parents, who are influenced by their culture that views disability as something stigmatizing, learning that their child has a disability can be even more devastating than for parents in many other cultures.

Religion Religion serves as an important context in which problems are constructed and resolved in the Arab region. The majority of Arabs are Muslim. Published literature typically emphasizes giving consideration to the role of religion in moderating the impact of disability on Arab individuals and families, whether Muslim or Christian. Both Christian and Muslim Arabs "share an ethnic heritage greatly influenced by Islamic values, especially those regarding gender roles and family relations.

According to Islam, individuals are entitled to various rights, among them the rights to life, identity, family cohesion, personal freedoms, and sound upbringing. Other rights include education, appropriate social living standards, protection from all forms of abuse, and physical and psychological care. Islam, however, does not say a great deal about disability per se. Even the statements found in the Qur'an about disability—such as blindness and deafness—are ambiguous, often best understood figuratively or metaphorically.

In Islam, disability is neither a blessing nor a curse In Islam, disability is neither a blessing nor a curse. Instead, disability is accepted as a fact of life that must be addressed appropriately by society. Positive social attitudes toward persons with disabilities or illnesses are clearly encouraged. One of the fundamental propositions of Islam is to respect and support all human life and to value the potential of every individual, and this fact does not change when a person has a disability. Furthermore, Islam calls for accepting all people and encourages including them. Prejudice against and exclusion of any group of people is opposed.

Help-Seeking Behaviors Cultural factors affect parents’ help-seeking behaviors. Many Arab families tend to hide disability, and would only seek help as a last resort. Arab families do that because there is such a great stigma regarding disability, or because they commonly believe that disability must be endured because it is God's will.

Parent Involvement in Their Children's Education Arab parental involvement in child’s school has been found to be low to moderate. In general, mothers are more involved than fathers in their children's education. Arab parents tend to be actively involved with their children's learning within the home environment; however, their involvement with their child's school is usually less. This lack of involvement can be attributed to both teachers and parents. The few studies related to Arab parent involvement with parent support and advocacy groups reported mixed results.