FS Proposal: background and significance 5/18/11

5/18/11---Sorry Maggie, this is a horrible draft.... I will try to revise it this Sat.!!!

Background and Significance

Mexico, BYU has been sending students to this area for years. My field study is an appropriate fit for this location. In Santa Rosa there are families who currently have children with disabilities. They have superstitions towards these children who have disabilities because the area is so preserved this understanding continues to be prevalent in this area.

Since having a child with a disability can be looked on from community members as a bad thing. This creates a very tender and touchy subject. I do not wish to draw unwanted negative attention to these families because of views the community might have. If I am gathering feedback or people’s opinions they could begin to talk and this could impact the family feeling hostile towards the community members and their opinions or towards myself as well.

If I were to gather this information through interviews or surveys that would call direct attention to these families which could be unwanted. This may mean that I will only be able to gather information through observation. Possibly as relationships deepen I might be able to complete a few interviews with the family members or parents of these children.

Much information about attitudes and perceptions of these children has been gathered previously. Some of this information is specific to location and cultures. Much of what has been gathered connects to the family. What are the feelings of these families and what are the emotions they are dealing with. Then it looks at how these emotions impact the family unit.

I feel that it is very important to understand these views. Understanding how a child is perceived by their parents influences how those parents interact with them throughout the day. Those influences impact the child and their development. It is also important to understand where they are coming from. I would like to work with families from Mexico to provide services for their child. I need to better understand where they are coming from so that I am more fully able to address their needs.