Basic+Needs+Group+2

This is where Basic Needs Group 2 is to post their discussion about Module 11 Assignment.

~Nina Fernandez 1. What role(s) does a families’ basic needs play in their overall quality of life? A families' basic needs play a vital role in the overall quality of their lives. There are four basic needs: (1) emotional needs, (2) informational needs,(3) financial needs, and (4) safety needs. Emotional needs play a key role in the lives of the families with children with disabilities because families might feel alone and uninformed at one time or another in their lives, they need to know they are not alone and that you are there if need be. Informational support can be defined as just offering resources on information based support which can help parents make good decisions in reference to their child's education and overall well being. Informational needs in my opinion go hand-in-hand with emotional support because parents want to know if they are doing the right thing and if they can be doing more, they just want to make sure their child is being the best that they can be. Financials stability in my opinion is one of the most important factors in order for the family to be a success because families with children who have disabilities are more likely to experience economic vulnerability. A family struggling with financial difficulties will most likely impact the child's overall success in education due to the fact that the parents might not have time to always go over homework and other assignments. Safety is the last basic need this means protecting a child and other family members from neglect and/or abuse. A child who is abused and/or neglected will never do better in school/life than a child who is provided with love and support.

2. How can systems and professionals within systems build families’ trust? As a teacher, one way I can build trust between families and myself is by indirectly helping the families with their basic needs. While providing these resources to help with the overall success of the child's school experience I need to keep in mind the seven principles of partnership, especially commitment, because I need to be sensitive to the families' emotional needs as well as being available and accessible to the child and families to answer any and all questions and concerns. Finally, the best way I can build trust between families and myself is to always try to go above and beyond any expectations which they might have.

Response by Jessica Carroll~ I know I'm not in your group but I'm unable to edit my group page. I absolutely agree with you about financial needs being one of the most important factors. Finances are a big deal for families who don't have a child with special needs and they are struggling. Now having a child with special needs increases medical bill, service bills, and possibly educational bill if the child isn't in public schools. Many parents don't also don't know that they can receive medicaid and other financial services which is why building informational support is important as well. With the rise of child abuse and negligence cases, it is vital that we take heed to acknowledging it. I have a fear that many professionals don't want to get involved--so they don't. But like I said we have to pay close attention to those signs, not only regarding the child, but the entire family.

Response by Lindsay Forney: I think it is important to help families with their basic needs as well. I was surprised to read a part in our text that said something about how one third of all children with disabilities live in a household with an annual income of $25,000 or less. That just blew my mind! By teaching families about all of the resources that are available to them, it could help them alleviate some of their financial issues as well as other issues with basic needs. I also agree that you have to be sensitive to a families' emotional needs. The only place we are able to get emotional support from is from other people. If they are not willing to give it to us, then our need for emotional support would not be met.

Response by Nina Fernandez:I just want to go ahead and first of all say thank you to both Lindsay and Jessica for responding to my post. Lindsay I also read the text that stated the annual income of families with children with disabilities and was shocked by the number as well, I can't believe I forgot to mention that in my post so thank you for putting it in your response to me. Jessica, you and I are definitely in the same page I completely agree with you in the comment that not many families are aware of the financial support they could receive. Families need to be more informed on services available to them.

*Jessica Carroll*
media type="youtube" key="9LKe8Tygm4U" height="315" width="560" [] [] []

What role does families’ basic needs play in their overall quality of life?

After watching the video, I can say that Contact Family does offer a great amount of support to families who have children with special needs. The main reason I wanted to include the video is because it offers a visual; instead of just reading on the importance of meeting families' needs, it allows us to see what the support does and how influential it can be. The primary focus is offering emotional support for families and it is clearly seen that families spend time with others, feel cared about, feel encouraged, and feel understood because they are not alone. They make sure they provide informational support and work with families once again to become knowledgeable about the situation their going through.They also produce a wide range of publications which helps families to stay informed. Seeing these families gives us, without a doubt, the answer to the above question. The basic needs of families plays a crucial role in the quality of their life. Having their child alone can be a handful, but not having anyone to help or having the resources, definitely takes a toll on their well being. Seeing others offer this support on such a grand scale encourages me to take the time to help meet the basic needs of families. A huge burden for parents and families is meeting their financial needs. I also included a link to a website that discusses the struggle families face in budgeting for their basic needs. Without basic needs, it would be extremely hard for families to find much quality in their life.

How can systems and professionals within systems build families’ trust?

I believe in previous assignments I stressed equality and communication, aren't solely responsible for building trust, but in my opinion are the main practices in doing so. With communication, it lets them know that you are willing to listen. The key is not giving them the impression that you know it all and that you are only offering your voice as an opinion. But if you open lines of communication in hopes of building trust, they will feel comfortable enough to listen. It is crucial to make them feel that their say is just as important as your say. I feel that representatives who work for some systems deal with so many families, they eventually become detached from the work that they are doing. That detachment doesn't work to the benefit of families because communication doesn't consist empathy, only protocol. Families then begin to feel defeated and feel its best to always have a defense up because they want the best for their child. Making sure that we maintain equality is also essential in building trust. No one will be willing to trust someone who does things only for themselves. We have to show families that what we do is for the benefit for the child and offer them to have the same amount of input. If we don't establish equality they may never grow to trust because they may never know what we are going to do. With equality and communication, it will help us get insight on the basic needs of the family. Being able to communicate to one another about how they are feeling and/or the resources we recommend will help them see that we are on their side. Being equal and fair is part of understanding their needs as well. Judging a family based on their situation doesn't show them that you are willing to be equal; but having and demonstrating understanding will ultimately help you better assist them in meeting their basic needs. Once you begin to help families meet their basic needs, the amount of trust they put in you will increase.

__**Lindsay Forney**__ 1. What role does families' basic needs play in their overall quality of life?

Everyone has basic needs that have to be fulfilled in order to survive. There are four different types of basic needs. They are emotional support, informational support, economic support, and support to address abuse and neglect. Emotional support is important to families because it allows families to connect with other and perhaps gain a better understanding of their child through the experience of others. Without emotional support, people can feel isolated and will lack the guidance that others can provide. It is important to offer emotional support to families because it is something that can only be given from a person. They will not be able to gain emotional support from a website or other places they may go to find out information. Informational support is important because it allows the families to understand what their child is diagnosed with and what can be done to help them. It can also help to give them ideas about how to handle their child. Economic support is incredibly important in this day and age. People are struggling financially, especially those with children who have disabilities because it could restrict the parents from working or they could have incurred a large sum of medical bills. Either way, it is important for families to know about ways to help them financially. Things such a Medicaid and Supplementary Security Income could help alleviate some financial stresses.Support for abuse and neglect is important to families with a disabled child because that child may not be able to speak for themselves. It is important that they feel like their child is safe at all times and not have to worry about them being abused or neglected.

2. How do systems and professionals within systems build families' trust?

Trust can be built with families a number of ways. The most important way to do this through communication. By communicating openly and honestly with families will allow them to build a stronger trust in the teacher as well as the school. Respecting the families is another important part to building trust. Families have to feel that they are being heard and that they are respected by the teacher and other faculty. Professionals have to show competence when working with families. By being knowledgeable about what is being talked about, teachers can earn the trust of the families. Going above and beyond is another way that professionals can build trust with families. Putting in the extra effort and showing the families that they really care about the student will allow the families to feel the teacher has a genuine interest in helping their child. Supporting the families' basic needs will also allow professionals and systems to build trust with families.

Response by Nina Fernandez: I completely agree in the sense that communication is a crucial part in building trust and partnerships with families. Trust can be built in so many ways as you said and without trust between families and teachers there is really no hope for a relationship between students and their teacher. In reference to your comment about putting in the extra effort and showing the families as well as students that you really do care about them and their future allows the families as well as the students to feel that you have a genuine interest in helping their child succeed. As a substitute teacher myself I sometimes encounter students sharing with me that their regular teacher doesn't really care about them enough to even example assignments or even help them with their assignments. I always try to help the students with their assignments while letting them figure things out for themselves. I believe that education should be knowledgeable as well as enjoyable.