Culturally Appropriate Communication Skills in FASD Education

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Culturally Appropriate Communication Skills
inFASD Education

• A Guide For Trainers
• Midwest Regional Fetal Alcohol
• Syndrome Training Center
• 2006

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Topics

• As trainer and clinician
• Confidentiality
• Respectful language
• Diversity and bias
• Health literacy
• Special groups
• Birth parents
• Adoptive parents
• Self advocates

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Purpose

• Provide a welcoming environment
• Promote emotional safety for vulnerable
  participants or patients
• Promote open, honest discussion

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Confidentiality

• Remind all groups of privacy responsibilities
• Let families self-identify
• Video/audio taping issues
• Informed consent when developing materials

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Respectful Language FASD

• People-first
• child with FAS
• baby exposed to alcohol
• Avoid diagnosis as adjective
• FAS kid
• crack baby
• mentally retarded woman
• he is FAS

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Respectful Language FASD

• Avoid judgmental terms
• victim of
• suffering from
• handicapped
• wheelchair bound

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Respectful Language Alcohol Use

• Judgmental terms
• alcoholic, drunk
• problem drinker
• drinking habits
• booze

• Appropriate terms
• woman with alcohol dependence
• person with at-risk drinking patterns
• alcohol use
• alcohol

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Alcohol Use Adoption

• Learn childs language
• what does he call you
• Make no assumptions about who is who
• Avoid judgmental terms
• real mom
• ward of the state
• Appropriate terms
• birth mother
• child in foster care

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Dimensions of Diversity

• Ability
• Income
• Age
• Family make-up
• Ethnicity/cultural heritage

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Unintentional Provider/Trainer Bias

• Who is at-risk for unintended bias? Persons who
  are
• African Americans, Latino, Native Americans
• Gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, trangender
• Low income
• Single parents
• Birth parents
• Watch for bias
• Materials/photos
• Language/body language
• Verbally dispel bias

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Health Literacy

• the capacity of an individual to obtain,
  interpret, and understand basic health
  information and services and the competence to
  use such information and services in ways which
  are health-enhancing.

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Low Health Literacy

• At- risk for low literacy
• Persons with an FASD
• Family members
• Can lead to
• Misunderstanding
• Medication errors
• Excess hospitalizations
• Poor health outcomes

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Health Literacy Action steps

• Teach back as vital technique
• Medication reviews
• Simplified instructions
• Illustrations
• Concrete
• Shame-free environment

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Special Groups All Parents

• Parents need
• A positive tone
• Hope for the future
• Support
• Follow-up

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Special Groups Birth Parents

• Assume their presence
• Validation and support
• Avoiding shame
• Misdirected anger at child
• Prevention issues

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Special Groups Adoptive/Foster Parents

• Grief/loss issues
• International adoptions
• Managing anger
• Avoid or redirect birth-parent and professional
  bashing

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Special Groups Self Advocates

• Respectful language
• Finesse with redirection
• Solicit input
• Plan extra breaks, if necessary

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Last, but not least. . .

• Handling personal disclosures in training
  settings
• Participant shut-down
• Toxic discussions

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Summary

• Promote confidentiality
• Model and encourage respectful language
• Watch for unintended bias
• Practice health literacy strategies
• Keep the tone positive

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