User Manual - Aztech Meter Aztech Meter

needs of diverse populationsor other location near their home.Home visits are usually the bestway for him to connect with families,said Jesús Villaseñor, advocate forparents in the Hispanic-Latinocommunity. He urges other professionalsto become involved with thefamilies in that way. Many from theHispanic-Latino community are shy,and their quietness is sometimesmistaken as apathy or an indicationthat they are hiding something, hesaid. Arranging for a friendly homevisit generally honors the family whilegiving the professional a betterunderstanding of the family andstudent as individuals and member ofa cultural group.The advocates said that parentsfrom many cultures do not seek helpfrom schools or agencies becausethey view the staff as authorityfigures rather than partners. Theymay not understand that schools,government, and family need to worktogether.Growing up, Favorite was taught torespect her elders and not to question aperson of authority, she said. It wasn’tuntil her son with a learning disabilityhad difficulty at school that she learnedthat she needed to collaborate with theschool.In Southeast Asia, the families ofwhole villages knew one another andacted as parents for a child, saidXiong. There is a different environmentin the United States. Manyfamilies view schools as institutionsand are reluctant to seek help outsidetheir community.“I advise families that seekingoutside services is a good thing,” saidXiong.“In their life experience, [Somalipeople] didn’t have governmentinvolvement,” explained Abdilahi. “Thenotion of asking for help in the systemis new, and having a child in specialeducation is new. The biggestchallenge is telling parents theirchild’s rights under the law.”Some parents may be wary ofschools and agencies because oftheir immigration status, addedVillaseñor.PACER’s multicultural efforts areunique among organizations.“PACER was the first place tosay to me, “Yes, I can help you,”remembered Favorite.Those words are a lifeline when afamily is dealing with an unfamiliarculture or environments and theissues of rearing a child with disabilities.Benefits of the parent-PACERrelationship, however, flow bothways, said the advocates.As Villaseñor put it, “In my job, Iinform a lot; I help a lot—and I alsolearn a lot.”PACER Center’s staff exemplifies diversityA glance around a staff meeting confirms that diversity isimportant to PACER Center. The men and women gatheredthere present a spectrum of backgrounds. The one thing theyhave in common: commitment to helping families of childrenwith all disabilities.“From the time PACER Center opened its doors in 1978,one of its values has been to serve families of children withdisabilities regardless of race, cultural, or economicbackground,” said Paula F. Goldberg, executive director.“One of the ways to do that is to hire staff that share,understand, and respect families’ cultural experiences,” shesaid.Virginia Richardson, parent training manager, is anexample. She has been part of the organization since itsearliest days, first volunteering by presenting workshops.Shortly after PACER was established, she was named to theBoard of Directors. After four years, she became president ofthe board—a position she resigned to join the staff. Shecelebrates her 25 th anniversary as a PACER staff memberthis year.That Richardson is African American is beside the point.She is the parent of a child with disabilities, she understandsspecial education law and therights of parents, and she issensitive to families. So are DixieJordan (Native American), 20years at PACER; Sharman DavisBarrett (African American), 17years at PACER; Dao Xiong(Hmong), 11 years at PACER;Jesús Villaseñor (Hispanic-Latino), 9 years at PACER; andmost of PACER’s other staffmembers.“I’ve always felt that PACER isintentional about serving allfamilies in a way that is respectful.Virginia RichardsonFrom the beginning, PACER triedto bring in parents whose voiceswere not at the table of other disability groups,” Richardsonsaid.The effort remains. Two-and-a-half decades later, “wecontinue to work on serving all parents of children withdisabilities,” said Richardson.Visit www.pacer.orgPACESETTER – Summer 2005 5