Shaking Up Your Beliefs

I attended a workshop today regarding culture and disability.  This had been promoted to me as being a workshop of value and a big step to acknowledging cultural competence.  I have no doubt that the people who produced and presented the workshop meant well however I may have higher expectations than I should.  After all, I’m back in Alberta and the concept of cultural competence is relatively new in this province.  I keep forgetting that.  I grew up in Alberta but moved to Vancouver Island in 1990.  BC is much more advanced in recognizing the need for cultural competence in part because they have experienced an influx of visible minorities much earlier than Alberta.  The rapid change in Alberta didn’t really take off until the mid 90’s.

I returned to Alberta two years ago and the changing demographics were much more apparent to me following an 18 year hiatus.  Since my return I have been very active within the ESL community with families with children living with disabilities.  This is a community that has lost out on a wide range of treatment for their children, primarily autism, due to a lack of understanding of the Canadian system and lack of English understanding.  We have a government system here where if you don’t ask the right questions the information regarding services is not always volunteered by caseworkers.

A little background:  as a polio survivor I have grown up with a disability so I believe I know a little about the level of advocacy required to move ahead in a non-disabled world.  I have been fighting for things long before there was any legislation or real programs for people with disabilities.  Had of I listened to the government of the day I would have been in an extended care centre at age 18 and dependent on the public welfare system for my independence.  That kind of thing never worked for me and I had to fight my own battles to maintain a level of independence and self sufficiency that works for me.   I have always worked, been married, have a family and always been responsible for myself…sometimes to a fault.

For the past twenty years I have been very active with the multi-cultural community.  My involvement has ranged from being a member of the Anti-Racism Conference Committee for the Canadian Labour Conference to eight years as a cultural competence trainer in BC.  I have always maintained that you can’t only talk the talk but have to walk the walk.  Walking the walk usually involves some serious evaluation of your personal belief systems.  These belief systems have to be shaken up and re-evaluated on a regular basis.  So when I see a workshop that professes to present on understanding cultural ramifications on disability, it catches my interest.  So I attended the one today.

Now in fairness the presenters did mean well.  However when you end this type of workshop with a comment by the presenter stating she doesn’t really belief cultural competence can ever be really realized then I have to question it.  Working towards a concept like cultural competence without believing you can accomplish it, then you might as well give up right now.  Successful change requires total buy in.  If you can’t muster genuine buy in then you better shake up your belief system or walk away from the problem now.

The other interesting thing that happened that makes me question genuine buy in was explained to me when I arrived.  A friend of mine, a member of a visible minority is a mother of an adult daughter with autism, attended with her daughter.  When the organizer requested she take her daughter home and then return well I have to question how strongly this group has bought into this concept.  It’s almost hypocritical to run a workshop on culture and disability, acknowledge the fact that many of these families are isolated because other families don’t understand autism and request that the families not bring their child with them for social events can and then ask a mother to take her daughter home, To me this runs contradictory to the purpose of the workshop.

As I mentioned I do believe this group wants to be beneficial but based on the actions I have a hard time believing they have really bought into this concept.  This is the time for them to look deep into their own believes systems and adjusted it accordingly.  Nothing hurts a movement more than having allies who don’t really believe in the cause.

Just one man’s opinion.