Arab Americans with Disabilities and Their Families: a Culturally Appropriate Approach for Counselors Jamal M
Received 07/19/13 Revised 12/09/13 Accepted 03/11/14 DOI: 10.1002/j.2161-1912.2014.00057.x application: theory to culturally competent practice Arab Americans With Disabilities and Their Families: A Culturally Appropriate Approach for Counselors Jamal M. Al Khateeb, Muna S. Al Hadidi, and Amal J. Al Khatib The authors present a brief introduction to Americans of Arab descent and a brief overview of Arab culture. Then, culturally appropriate counseling consid- erations related to family, attitudes toward disability, religion, communication, acculturation, help-seeking behaviors, and stereotypes are highlighted. In the last section, the authors provide conclusions and recommendations for culturally appropriate considerations in working with Arab Americans with disabilities and their families. Keywords: Arab Americans, minorities, disabilities, special needs, culturally appropriate counseling Los autores presentan una breve introducción sobre los americanos de origen árabe y un breve resumen de la cultura árabe. Después, se destacan consideraciones para la consejería culturalmente apropiada relacionadas con la familia, actitudes sobre discapacidad, religión, comunicación, aculturación, comportamientos de búsqueda de ayuda, y estereotipos. En la última sección, los autores proporcionan conclusiones y recomendaciones para considera- ciones culturalmente apropiadas a la hora de trabajar con americanos de origen árabe con discapacidades y sus familias. Palabras clave: americanos de origen árabe, minorías, discapacidades, necesidades especiales, consejería culturalmente apropiada stimating the number of Arab Americans with disabilities is a daunting undertaking for at least two reasons. First, the U.S. Census does not Euse an Arab American classification. Instead, people of Arab descent are classified under the “White” or “Some Other Race” category in surveys using federal standards for race and ethnicity (Hixson, Hepler, & Kim, 2011), so knowing the exact figure of Arab Americans is extremely difficult (Arab American Institute, 2012).
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