Sustainable Community and School Initiatives in First Nations & Inuit Communities. Michelle Brown Churchill Fellow 2011

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Sustainable Community and School Initiatives in First Nations & Inuit Communities. Michelle Brown Churchill Fellow 2011"

Shanon Bennett
5 years ago
Views:

1 Sustainable Cmmunity and Schl Initiatives in First Natins & Inuit Cmmunities Michelle Brwn Churchill Fellw 2011

2 Schls f Special Educatin Needs The Schls f Special Educatinal Needs prvide supprt fr students with disability and diverse learning needs thrugh teams f teachers wrking frm: Schl f Special Educatinal Needs: Disability, Schl f Special Educatinal Needs: Sensry, Schl f Special Educatinal Needs: Medical & Mental Health Schl f Special Educatinal Needs: Behaviur & Engagement. These schls cllabrate t prvide effective service prvisin t students and schl cmmunities. The Schls f Special Educatinal Needs are an integral part f the Western Australian Department f Educatin s Statewide Services Divisin.

3 Students supprted by SSEN in 2015 Autism, Intellectual and Physical Disability r sme cmbinatin Visin Impairment and/r Hearing Lss Medical and Mental Health Cnditins Behaviur & Engagement 4745 Students 2362 Students 5137 Students Website: ssen.wa.edu.au

Federal Prject Australian Cllabratin fr Healthy Ears 2012: Churchill

4 Backgrund 2006: Visiting Teacher f the Deaf, Pilbara WA. 2010: NSW CHL Prject Clsing the Gap: better hearing, better utcmes 2011: Federal Prject Australian Cllabratin fr Healthy Ears 2012: Churchill Fellwship Implementing sustainable Cnductive Hearing Lss strategies in schls and cmmunities -

5 Churchill Fellwship T identify and investigate the aspects f sustainable Cnductive Hearing Lss initiatives encmpassing the cultural perspectives n titis media and hearing lss in remte Indigenus cmmunities f Canada.

6 Cmmunities Visited Nva Sctia Mi kmaq Nunavik, Quebec Inuit Saskatchewan Cree British Clumbia First Natins

Nva Sctia -Mi kmaq Cmmunities Speech & Language Pathlgists mandatry fr SLP graduates in Nva Sctia t cmplete units f study in audilgy and audilgist graduates t cmplete curses f study in

7 Nva Sctia -Mi kmaq Cmmunities Speech & Language Pathlgists mandatry fr SLP graduates in Nva Sctia t cmplete units f study in audilgy and audilgist graduates t cmplete curses f study in speech and language. Cmmunity Liaisn Officer: translate instructins, visit families and explain results Emplyment f respected lcal persn will result in better attendance at appintments

Nva Sctia -Mi kmaq Cmmunities Hearing Screening Teacher: Based in schls Trained t d screening and check fr middle ear dysfunctin Alltted time each week t perfrm duties Cntacts parents if cncerns and

8 Nva Sctia -Mi kmaq Cmmunities Hearing Screening Teacher: Based in schls Trained t d screening and check fr middle ear dysfunctin Alltted time each week t perfrm duties Cntacts parents if cncerns and encurages attendance at medical appintments, will phne r visit hme as letters nt effective cmmunicatin. Refers students t SLP, supprts teachers Cmmunity Engagement Need fr educatin within the cmmunity n the imprtance f hearing and the impact and effects f hearing lss n schl, hme and cmmunity life. A challenge as it is difficult t engage parents in health prgrams and t encurage attendance at the heath centre. Requires a cmmunity grup t address t be effective & sustainable.

9 Nunavik, Quebec Inuit Cmmunities Hearing & Otitis Team (H&O) Cmmenced in 1985 t prvide audilgical services t furteen remte Inuit villages in Nunavik regin f Quebec. Tw teams, ne fr the Hudsn Bay regin (FIFO) and the ther the Ungava Bay regin based in Kuujjuaq servicing 7 Inuit cmmunities. Screen schl students in the regin at least nce a year and has cmpiled a database f student results. This database is referred t when arranging appintments as thse that failed the hearing screen previusly are seen first then any teacher referrals are screened.

10 Hearing & Otitis Team Schl Liaisn Teacher A staff member allcated t liaise with the H&O team. Preferred that an Inuit teacher is allcated the task t ensure sustainability as nn- Inuit teachers tend t be mre transient. Is educated in the maintenance and management f the amplificatin equipment including SAS, hearing aids and bne cnductr aids. The H&O team prvide nging supprt via telephne and between visits t the schl and cmmunity. The use f letters has prven t be an ineffective methd f cmmunicatin in Inuit cmmunities Liaises with parents via hme visits All classrms have Sundfield Amplificatin Systems (SAS) & Principals are encuraged t mdel best practice & use SAS in assemblies &meetings

Hearing & Otitis Team Inuit Hearing Specialist A vital member f the team as: Inuit peple are mre cmfrtable asking ther Inuit peple fr assistance and advice and mre receptive t new knwledge

11 Hearing & Otitis Team Inuit Hearing Specialist A vital member f the team as: Inuit peple are mre cmfrtable asking ther Inuit peple fr assistance and advice and mre receptive t new knwledge and infrmatin when presented by Inuit persn Knws the cmmunity Knws the language Knws the custms Cmpletes hearing tests, secretarial wrk, hearing aid check ups, translatin and wrk n new prjects.

12 Hearing & Otitis Team It is essential that the lcal Inuit staff wrking alngside specialists are prvided with the apprpriate training and resurces. Additinally, t encurage retentin f staff they must als receive similar benefits in additin t their regular wage i.e. hlidays, travel allwances. Transience f staff - frustratins that arise when time and mney has been spent training a lcal persn nly t have them leave the cmmunity. POSITIVE OUTLOOK : the knwledge has nt been lst as it will be shared within the family and friends f that persn in the years t cme.

13 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan First Natins First Natins University Indigenus Educatin faculty. What is the ptential impact f CHL n cultural knwledge and language develpment? The issue f Otitis Media (OM) and Cnductive Hearing Lss (CHL) is cvered in the special needs mdule as OM and CHL are prevalent in the First Natins cmmunities.

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan First Natins The Prince Albert Grand Cuncil (PAGC) wrks with 23 First Natin Reservatin Schls all f which perate independently.

14 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan First Natins The Prince Albert Grand Cuncil (PAGC) wrks with 23 First Natin Reservatin Schls all f which perate independently. The pverty in First Natins Reservatins impacts n health and access t related services. Many First Natins peple live in remte areas and d nt have the funds t travel t Prince Albert r Saskatn t access health services. Thus an audilgist frm Saskatn travels t Prince Albert district t perfrm hearing screening n kindergarten and pre-primary students in twenty eight schls. Each PAGC schl has a special educatin teacher wh has either cmpleted a degree in Special Educatin r is actively wrking twards the qualificatin.

Speech Therapy Outreach Prgrams Being implemented in all PAGC schls due t the difficulty in accessing regular speech and language services lcally.

15 Speech Therapy Outreach Prgrams Being implemented in all PAGC schls due t the difficulty in accessing regular speech and language services lcally. This is an innvative apprach t speech therapy fr remte students invlving a vide link up between the Speech and Language Pathlgist (SLP) and student in tandem with an nline prgram that bth can access. (SLP in Califrnia) The SLP prvides instructins and when the student prduces target sund r demnstrates the ability t fllws instructin they are then able t manipulate images n the screen, this is mnitred by the SLP.

We must discuss with the cmmunity the strengths and challenges within the cmmunity and wrk tgether n areas f

16 British Clumbia First Natins Cmmunities It is essential t g int cmmunities t listen and wait fr a request fr assistance. If yu dn t have a relatinship and respect there wn t be any prgress. We must discuss with the cmmunity the strengths and challenges within the cmmunity and wrk tgether n areas f need identified by the cmmunity. Abriginal cmmunities require allies and advcates frm nn-abriginal peple as Abriginal peple cannt d it all.

17 Main Cnclusins Sustainability is nt just abut the specialist service prviders, but is dependant n cmmunity engagement, participatin and cmmitment. It is essential fr cmmunity participatin in service delivery as cmmunity peple are mre likely t accept advice frm a lcal cmmunity member ahead f an utsider.

18 Main Cnclusins The issue f CHL needs t be acknwledged and addressed by all agencies and stakehlders in Abriginal cmmunities. A cllabrative interagency apprach is essential with educatin and health wrking tgether with schls and cmmunities t create crdinated sustainable prgrams invlving lcal cmmunity rganisatins.

19 SSEN: S Remte Educatin Supprt Prject Pririties: Raise schl awareness f OM & CHL Establish specialist supprt t Remte Gvernment Schls with the prvisin f Sundfield Systems Train schl staff n the use f these systems and prvide infrmatin n the impact f CHL n student learning and the relevant teaching and learning adjustments

20 Applying fr a Churchill Fellwship New Zealand Winstn Churchill Memrial Trust Australian Winstn Churchill Memrial Trust

21 Acknwledgments Cape Bretn, Nva Sctia, Canada Jennifer Tate, Speech & Language Pathlgist, Prvincial Public Schls Elizabeth MacNeil, Teacher, Eskasni Elementary and Middle Schl, Eskasni Lauren Furdas, Student Services/Literacy Crdinatr, Eskasni Elementary and Middle Schl, Eskasni Halifax, Nva Sctia, Canada Dr Elizabeth Kay Raining Bird, Prfessr Schl f Human Cmmunicatin Disrders, Dalhusie University, Dr Frederick Wien, Abriginal Health Research Prgram Greg Nel VP Nva Sctia Hearing & Speech Centres, Nva Sctia Educatin Office Kuujjuaq, Quebec, Canada Hannah Ayukawa, Audilgist Crdinatr, Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre, Lina Huynh Vung, Audilgist Hearing & Otitis, Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre, Andrea Makiuk-Ry, Inuit Assistant fr Hearing, Tulattavik Health Centre, Beverley, Teacher, Kuujjuaq Schl Sre Mller, Assistant Directr, Cmplimentary Services, Kativik Schl Bard, Kangiqsualujjuaq, (Gerge River), Quebec, Canada Mark Brazeau, Principal, Ulluriaq Schl Teaching Faculty, Ulluriaq Schl Mary Snwball, Inuit Assistant fr Hearing, Kangiqsualujjuaq Health Centre Ottawa, Ontari, Canada Andrea Auger, Tuchstnes Crdinatr, First Natins Child & Family Caring Sciety f Canada, Mntreal, Quebec, Canada Isabelle Billiard, Audilgist Crdinatr Hearing & Otitis Prgram, Inuulitsivik Health Centre Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada Linda Gulet, Assciate Prfessr, Indigenus Educatin, First Natins University f Canada Ida Swan, Faculty, Indigenus Educatin, First Natins University f Canada Elder Hward Camern, First Natins University f Canada Rsalie Tsannie-Burseth, Assciate Directr f Educatin, Prince Albert Grand Cuncil Glenda Brass, RMO C-Crdinatr, Prince Albert Grand Cuncil Shirley Kraus, RMO C-Crdinatr, Prince Albert Grand Cuncil Ott Fietz, Cree Language Cnsultant, Prince Albert Grand Cuncil Little Red River Schl (Independent First Natins Schl) Kendra Sittler-Gane, Speech and Language Pathlgist, Ecle Vickers Schl (Public Schl) Victria, Vancuver Island, British Clumbia, Canada Nella Nelsn, District Crdinatr, Abriginal Natins Educatin Divisin Greater Victria Schl District (Public Schls) Lly Wylie, PhD Candidate, Centre fr Abriginal Health Research, Faculty fr Human & Scial Develpment, University f Victria Nick Claxtn, Student Advisr/Crdinatr, Indigenus Educatin, Univeristy f Victria Maryann Gladstne, Principal, Lau Welnew Tribal Schl Brentwd Bay (Independent Schl)

Position Title Diabetes Educator Program / Funding Stream Primary Health Care

Position Title Diabetes Educator Program / Funding Stream Primary Health Care P O S I T I O N P R O F I L E POSITION TITLE: Diabetes Educatr Psitin Title Diabetes Educatr Prgram / Funding Stream Primary Health Care Psitin Classificatin RAHP Leve 4 - Level 5 r NUR Level 3 - Level