Family Stories (part two)

When the Wan family lived in China, they were fined the equivalent of several thousand dollars when Mrs. Wan became pregnant with their second child. Thinking that she may be fined again, she spent the next few months doing her best to either hide her growing belly or secluded in her house. When their baby boy was born with Down syndrome, their fear grew. They did not seek any medical care for him until they were finally able to emigrate to the U.S. There Vic was able to have his heart defect repaired and the family was able to begin a new life in a new country.

I first met Vic and his mother in our local grocery store when Vic was about 7 years old. It was Superbowl Sunday and Sweet Husband and I stopped into the store to buy some snacks to eat during the game. I noticed Vic riding in the shopping cart and I could tell that he had Down syndrome. I approached his mom and we did our best to communicate despite our language differences. I didn't have Kellen with me, but I showed her his picture that I carry in my wallet. We were able to make a connection as parents who both had sons with Down syndrome. I felt bad that I had no way to communicate to her that I work for an agency which supports parents of kids with special needs.

Several months later, by coincidence, I learned that she was referred to our agency as we have a multicultural outreach program. I offered to go with my co-worker who was planning on doing a home visit. That's when I was able to hear Mrs. Wan's compelling story and again meet her beautiful son. What a difference it made to have my co-worker there to interpret for us! I ended up going to her son's IEP meeting with her a few weeks later. I thought things had gone fairly well, but I found out the next day that Mrs. Wan had not understood much of what went on during the meeting because the person who was acting as the interpreter actually spoke Mandarin Chinese and not Cantonese. Mrs. Wan had not let on during the meeting that she wasn't understanding and I felt really bad that she hadn't been able to participate in the meeting as she had wanted to.

The next Spring, when IEP time rolled around again, the same thing happened! The school district had contracted with a math teacher to come to the meeting and interpret and she did not speak the same dialect. This time, the parents walked out of the meeting. Another meeting was scheduled a couple of weeks later with a professional interpreter from an agency. It is now written into Vic's IEP that a Cantonese interpreter from The ABC Agency will interpret all school meetings for the Wan family.

I was so proud of Mrs. Wan. She went from silent compliance to self-advocacy in twelve short months. I am certain that she will continue to be an effective advocate for Vic for many years to come.