Vietnam Through A Disability Lens: Finding A Prescription for

Greater Clarity and Action

Yen Thi Hoang Vo, M.A., and Glen W. White, Ph.D.

Department on Human Development and

the Research and Training Center on Full Participation in Independent Living

at the University of Kansas

Major Legislation Including Persons with Disabilities

1992 Constitution of Viet Nam Rights and Duties of Citizens:

No fees for primary school1994 Labor Code, No. 35-L-CTN:

Covers wage laws, vocational training, occupational safety and hazards, and production establishments for persons with disabilities

1998 Ordinance on Disabled Persons (No. 06/1998/PL-UBTVQH-10):

Covers all aspects of legislation pertaining to persons with disabilities

April 18 was chosen as the National Day of Protection and Care for People with Disabilities

We also have:

Society of Support FOR Vietnamese Handicapped Orphans and Children

Vietnam Society FOR Protection and Support of the Disabled

The National Coordinating Council on Disability (NCCD), 02/2001

However,

Gaps between the aim of legislation and the actual programs implemented are significant

Few specific instructions have been disseminated on the implementation of the Ordinance on Disabled Persons

No consensus among different governmental organizations regarding the implementation of laws and regulations Lack of coordination among these governmental organizations People with disabilities have not been a target group or a concern, even just appearing, in the project documents

TOLERANCE and CHARITY towards people with disabilities is easily found

However: Lack of understanding and awareness of

disability legislation still persists Negative attitudes towards persons with

disabilities still exists

In Vietnamese Society

For the first time in Ho Chi Minh City, a group of 13 persons with disabilities organized an photo exhibition “Focusing on Equal Opportunities” that featured:

People with disabilities in their every day life

Their ability to develop and live to their full potential

This photo exhibition “Focusing on Equal Opportunities” stressed the full participation of people with disabilities in Vietnam society:In education

In employment

In contribution to society

In building their own “nest”

Education

Educational Rate

Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, 1998

Some basic secondary education

26%

Primary education 31%

Illiterate43%

Illiterate

Primary education

Some basic secondary education

• Employment

• Contribution

Professional Levels of Persons with Disabilities in Vietnam 1994-1995

Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs’ survey 1994-1995

No vocational skills97%

College and university degree

1%

Some vocational skills2%

No vocational skills

Some vocational skills

College and university degree

Having “Own Nest”

But….

….. Barriers Everywhere

How can I improve life for my fellow Vietnamese with Disabilities?

Independent Living Conference in Hawaii in December, 2000

Learned about the concept of Independent Living

Received a Ford Foundation International Fellowship in June, 2001

In the Fall of 2001 I came to University of Kansas to study with Dr. Glen White and learn about research on rehabilitation and independent living.

Study Goals

Learn more about:Disability movement

Disability laws and their implementation

Independent Living

And bring the new knowledge home to:Enable people with disabilities to better influence the course of their lives and the decisions which affect them

Do research to obtain data on disability issues

Use data to change disability policy and practice

Self-Advocacy Training for Postsecondary Students with

Disabilities:Requesting Accommodations to Increase Full Participation in

Higher Education

Self-Advocacy means:

Knowing your rights and responsibilities

Speaking up for yourself

Negotiating for yourself

Making your own decisions

Asking for what you need

Using the resources that are available to you

(State of Vermont Developmental and Mental Health Services)

Social Importance of the Problem

Students lack knowledge about

Their legal rights

Effective personal accommodations

Self-advocacy skills

Students with disabilities need to advocate for themselves and solicit their own supports rather than rely on others providing advocacy and advice to succeed:

in higher educational settings

in their working environments later

Self-Advocacy is universal (i.e., it can be applied in Vietnam)

Research Question

What are the effects of a self-advocacy training package in improving students with disabilities’ accommodation-requesting skills?

Method

Measurement Techniques

A behavioral scoring form to score participants’ skills

A social validation form for external experts to rate participants’ skills

Data Analysis

A visual presentation will be made of these data using a multiple baseline analysis to compare participants’ skills before and after training

Participatory Action Research (PAR):

Collective, self-reflective enquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in order improve the rationality and justice of their own social practices (Kemmis and McTaggart 1988: 5)

A process through which stakeholders influence and share control over development initiatives and the decisions and resources which affect them (World Bank Participation Sourcebook)

PAR used in this study

Met with two groups of students with disabilities from 2 other universities to discuss challenges that they have been facing in their educational settings

Collaborate with the Services for Students with Disabilities Office (SSD) at the University of Kansas to identify and recruit potential study participants

Involve students with disabilities in refining the definitions of behaviors to be addressed

Involve students with disabilities in getting reliability data

Collaborate with people whose work is related to disability issues (SSD, local Independent Living Center, Social Work department, etc.) to obtain social evaluation for the outcomes

Have participants evaluate the training

PAR process continued

Findings

Self-advocacy is a critical skill required of students with disabilities to succeed in postsecondary school environments

Participants' knowledge of :

Rights to academic accommodations became more evident to them

Who is responsible for providing academic accommodations increased significantly after the training

Knowledge Assessment

0

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Baseline Follow-up 1 Follow-up 2

perc

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ClayRick

Zane

Data from independent observers, reading the vignette transcripts, show a consistent

positive correlation between

Systematic training, and

The acquisition of self-advocacy skills by students with disabilities

Baseline Post Post Post Follow-up Follow-up train 1 train 2 train 3 1 2

0

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1 3 5 8 10 11 13 16 18 19 21 23 26 28

Oppening the meeting

Making the request

Closing the meeting

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1 3 5 8 10 11 13 16 18 19 21 23 26 28

Asking for suggestions

Asking for referral

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1 3 5 8 10 11 13 16 18 19 21 23 26 28

Planning actions

Summarizing

//

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//

Clay

Scenarios

Per

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Ap

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ehav

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Ob

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Booster

Baseline Post Post Post Follow-up Follow-up train 1 train 2 train 3 1 2

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1 3 5 8 10 11 13 16 18 19 21 24 26 28 29 31

Oppening the meeting

Making the request

Closing the meeting

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1 3 5 8 10 11 13 16 18 19 21 24 26 28 29 31

Asking for suggestions

Asking for referral

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1 3 5 8 10 11 13 16 18 19 21 24 26 28 29 31

Planning actions

Summarizing

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Scenarios

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Rick

Baseline Post Post Post Follow-up Follow-up train 1 train 2 train 3 1 2

0

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1 3 5 8 10 11 13 16 18 19 21 24 26 27 29 31 34 36

Oppening the meeting

Making the request

Closing the meeting

0

10

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1 3 5 8 10 11 13 16 18 19 21 24 26 27 29 31 34 36

Asking for suggestions

Asking for referral

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1 3 5 8 10 11 13 16 18 19 21 24 26 27 29 31 34 36

Planning actions

Summarizing

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Scenarios

Zane

//

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//

No occasion to occur: 0 Generalization probes before training: Generalization probes after training:0%-50% : Participant 1: scenario 5, 6 Participant 1: scenario 23, 2451%-89% : Participant 2: scenario 5, 6 Participant 2: scenario 27, 28 90%-100% : Participant 3: scenario 5, 6 Participant 3: scenario 31, 32

0

Percent of Applicable Accommodation-Requesting Skills ObservedClayScenarios 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Opening the meetingMaking the requestClosing the meetingAsking for suggestions 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Asking for referral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planning future actions 0 0 0 0 0

Summarizing 0 0 0 0

RickScenarios 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Opening the meetingMaking the requestClosing the meeting 0

Asking for suggestions 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Asking for referral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planning future actions 0 0 0 0

Summarizing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ZaneScenarios 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Opening the meetingMaking the requestClosing the meetingAsking for suggestions 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Asking for referral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planning future actions 0 0 0

Summarizing 0 0

Follow -up 2

Follow -up 2

Follow -up 2

Baseline Post train 1 Post train 2 Post train 3 Follow -up 1

Follow -up 1Post train 2 Post train 3Baseline Post train 1

Follow -up 1Baseline Post train 3Post train 1 Post train 2

Expert Judges - Clay

-3

-2.5

-2

-1.5

-1

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Cla

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Before Training After training

Expert Judges - Rick

-3

-2.5

-2

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Ric

k's

perf

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ance

bef

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afte

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Before Training After training

Expert Judges - Zane

-2.5

-2

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Zane

's pe

rfor

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Before Training After training

Participants stated that:The training was useful to them

They would be more capable of successfully requesting academic accommodations

They would recommend the training to other students with disabilities

Policy Implications

Self-advocacy skill training is a valuable tool for:

Students with disabilities

Those who provide services to the students with disabilities in higher education

Because once students with disabilities are aware of their needs and know how to communicate them, they will reduce the need for service personnel to advocate on their behalf

Final Thoughts

Self-advocacy is:

A life-time skill

An essential part of empowerment, a process by which people with disabilities can gain more control over their lives

This self-advocacy training package can be modified and applied to:

Any culture

Working environment to help empower people with disabilities

Disability laws provide an open door to people with disabilities, but more efforts are still needed to:Include people with disabilities in to full participation into society

Create environments in which people with disabilities can maximize their capacity for making social and economic contributions

Have their “say” in decisions, policies, and programs that affect their life, not just only passive recipients of charity acts

While it is not a replacement for personal and systems advocacy, increased attention and support should be given for disability research to provide valid and reliable data concerning the:

Impact of specific disability policies, programs, and practices on people with disabilities

Relationship between personal and environmental factors that affect independent living outcomes for people with disabilities.