Cultural beliefs of Asian people toward disabilities Presenter: Cassandra Qin Supervisor: Jelena Zidov (Policy Analyst, Blind Foundation)

An overview of this presentation Attitudes and behaviours of Asian people towards disabilities Cultural beliefs Some suggested strategies to reach Asian communities

Models of Disability How do people think about disability? “Let’s FIX the person!” Medical model Rehabilitation model “They must have done something to deserve it /It’s God’s will” Moral model Religious model A person is disabled by their impairment and needs to be ‘fixed’ A person’s disability is either a punishment or gift from a higher power

Models of Disability How do people think about disability? 3. “Disability is a social construct” Social model People are disabled by oppressive beliefs, attitudes and values of society.

Cultural & Beliefs in the Asian Community Highly competitive - this means disabled people can be: seen as not worth establishing a relationship with seen as “Left behind from the start line” expected to succeed same as non-disabled peers without getting the support they need to succeed

Cultural & Beliefs in the Asian Community 2. Patriarchal & hierarchical family structure means that: Moral view of disability is passed down by respected elders that think disability is a punishment from God or other higher powers Families hide disabled people from the community out of shame or fear of judgement

Cultural & Beliefs in the Asian Community 3. Other harmful beliefs and stereotypes around disability Disabled people need help to do basic things Disabled people deserve our pity People with visual impairment only go out at night/always with sunglasses on

Barriers to accessing health services Awareness Lack of open discussion of the topic Ignorance of related services Language barriers Insufficient communication Health literacy Realistic considerations Lack of support, time, transportation and etc.

Some strategies to overcome barriers Provide information on websites, in brochures and within other communications that people can access 2. Empower a role model who is uses, participates in and engages in your services as well as in the wider society

Some strategies to overcome barriers 3. Make reception areas inviting and welcoming by providing information in other languages and by visually including Asian faces 4. Increase confidence by using translation tools to eliminate the need for a third party

Any questions?

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