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Masters Thesis

Families perspectives on disabilities in rural Guatemala

The American Academy of Pediatrics (1993) states that the development of culturally appropriate health policies, culturally sensitive services, and culturally competent clinicians requires an understanding of the inter-relationships between culture, chronic illness, child development and family functioning. Speech Language Pathologists (SLP) can gain invaluable information from listening to their client's stories and experiences in order to understand their perspective towards disabilities. This qualitative study seeks to understand the perspectives of three Guatemalan mothers raising children with special needs who have benefited from Nueva Vida, a special education school in rural Guatemala, including three teachers, a SLP, and a school psychologist. This study also discusses the implications for SLPs and how they can provide culturally relevant care and services to clients with limited resources and educational opportunities. The findings of this study indicate a need for further ethnographic narrative studies as well as further training for SLP's in counseling families.

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