Empowering Refugee Families of Students with Disabilities

Authors

  • Sadia Warsi, Ph.D. (Author)
    Dr. Sadia Warsi is a tenured Associate Professor in the Special Education Program where she teaches graduate classes in Special Education and Early Childhood Education. Her research focuses on implementing trauma-informed instruction for immigrant, refugee and homeless children in urban and suburban school settings. She is also researching how children’s books on the topics of social justice and diversity can be used with pre-service and in-service special education teachers in urban settings.
  • Karen Fitzgerald, Ph.D., CCC-SLP/L (Author)
    Dr. Karen Fitzgerald is a tenured Speech-Language Pathologist in the public school system. She works with students from pre-kindergarten through 5th grade in this multicultural setting. In addition, she adjuncts in a Communication Sciences and Disorders department at the university level. She works with college students in internal and external practicums. She mentors speech-language pathologists during their clinical fellowship year and leads department meetings.
https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.431
Many refugee students with disabilities are entering their American classrooms for the first time after experiencing adversity and trauma. They may have experienced famine, war, displacement, forced migration and abuse. One can also presume that their special education needs were neglected due to the limited resources that were available to them. While some of these students will have apparent disabilities, others will have social-emotional and other disabilities that are hidden. As the special education team prepares to embark on welcoming and educating each of these students, they will first need to empower the parents.

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There are 27 references in total.
Warsi, S., & Fitzgerald, K. (2020). Empowering Refugee Families of Students with Disabilities. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, 15(2), 152-159. https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.431

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Article Information

  • Article Type Articles
  • Submitted April 29, 2020
  • Published June 15, 2020
  • Issue Spring/Summer 2020
  • Section Articles
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