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Cultural Humility
Jessica Gormley
5/9/2017 8:45 PM
When providing AAC services, working within a team environment is viewed as best practice. To effectively work within a team and provide culturally competent services, it is important that clinicians are cognizant of the unique cultural variables (e.g., ethnicity, linguistic background, socioeconomic status) that professionals, clients, and families bring to interactions (ASHA, n.d.). Yet it is not enough to just "know" about these variables, clinicians must also learn how to appropriately respond to these variables. At times, this can be a challenging task as the development of cultural competence can be a dynamic and complex process (ASHA, n.d.). However, it is essential that clinicians continually work towards growth in this area especially when delivering services in low- and middle-income nations where professionals, families, and clients may have vastly different backgrounds.
Cultural Humility
Use of a cultural humility approach to AAC service delivery can be instrumental to developing cultural competence in any setting. When professionals from high-resource nations (e.g., United States) provide services within low- and middle-income nations (e.g., Haiti), it can be incredibly useful as clinicians intentionally acknowledge and appreciate difference among stakeholders and use this knowledge to work towards a common goal (Ortega & Faller, 2011).
Cultural humility is comprised of three major elements: (1) self-awareness, (2) openness, and (3) transcendence (Morris, Brotheridge, & Urbankski, 2005; Ortega & Faller, 2011). These concepts are relatively basic in nature; however, time and effort must be taken to implement on an ongoing basis. Below is a brief explanation of these elements.
1. Self-Awareness: Self-awareness can also be conceptualized as self-critique. When a professional engages in self-awareness, he or she considers how one's own experiences, beliefs, values, and biases shape the lens he or she uses to view the world (Ortega & Faller, 2011). It is important to know one's own strengths, limitations, and beliefs to effectively interact with clients, families, and teammates (Morris, Brotheridge, & Urbankski, 2005; Ortega & Faller, 2011). Self-awareness should be an ongoing and critical process as each person's experiences, beliefs, and values change over time.
2. Openness: When professionals acknowledge their own limitations, a willingness and openness to learn from others and explore new ideas can emerge (Foronda, Baptiste, Reinholdt, & Ousman, 2016; Morris et al., 2005). A demonstration of openness can be as simple as listening to and acknowledging the unique cultural experiences and perceptions from clients, families, and collaborating professionals. Openness should also be an ongoing process as there is always an opportunity to learn about and from the world, clients, and teammates.
3. Transcendence: Transcendence is simply the “acceptance of something greater than the self” (Morris et al., 2005, p. 1331). This can result in the understanding that each individual (e.g., speech-language pathologist; SLP) plays a unique and meaningful role within a broader context (e.g., team interaction to meet a client's personal goals). This acknowledgement leads to a deep appreciation for the roles that teammates, families, and clients play in the therapy process and recognizes that each individual has positive worth within the therapy process (Morris et al., 2005). Transcendence promotes that professionals serve as ongoing, active learners of the families and individuals he or she serves (Ortega & Faller, 2011).
In sum, through use of cultural humility, an SLP can (1) acknowledge the influence of personal values, beliefs, and experiences on interactions with team members and clients, (2) be open to learning about the unique cultural experiences of all stakeholders during the AAC service delivery process, and (3) recognize the common purpose of interactions within AAC service delivery (e.g., optimizing a child's communication skills in the community) and work towards this goal by bringing together the unique perspectives of all stakeholders (Ortega & Faller ,2011).
AAC Practice Considerations for Service Delivery in Low-Resources Areas
In the next few posts, I will explore six specific strategies for delivering AAC services in low-resource areas and provide some examples from my personal experiences working on an interdisciplinary team during service trips to Haiti.
References
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d). Cultural Competence. (Practice Portal). Retrieved January 8, 2017, from www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Professional-Issues/Cultural-Competence.
Foronda, C., Baptiste, D., Reinholdt, M.M., & Ousman, K. (2016). Cultural humility: A concept analysis. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 27, 210-217.
Morris, J.A., Brotheridge, C.M., & Urbanski, J.C. (2005). Bringing humility to leadership: Antecedents and consequences of leader humility. Human Relations, 58, 1323-1350.
Ortega, R.M., & Faller, K.C. (2011). Training child welfare workers from an intersectional cultural humility perspective: A paradigm shift. Child Welfare, 90, 27-49.
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