A Culture Undiscovered: The Impact of Learning Disabilities on Racially and Ethnically Diverse Students 1999
Distributed by Fanlight Productions, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Miguel E. Gallardo
Director n/a
VHS, color, 36 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Learning Disabilities, Education, Teacher Training, African American Studies, Asian American Studies, Latin American Studies, Sociology
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Maureen Puffer-Rothenberg, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GAIn A Culture Undiscovered, Asian American, Latino, and African American college students talk frankly about the double challenge of diversity and learning disability. Seven clients of California State Polytechnic University’s Disabled Student Services (DSS) discuss coping with academic expectations based on racial or ethnic stereotypes, and their initial embarrassment about using services for learning disabled students. They also recall positive and negative experiences with professors, offer suggestions as to how and when students should discuss learning disabilities with their parents, and encourage other learning disabled students to persevere.
Excerpts from the students’ interviews are interspersed with comments from two psychologists who reinforce and clarify the students’ observations. Dr. Micki Bryant of DSS explains that a learning disability is a sensory impairment and not an indication of intelligence. Dr. Sam Chan from the California School of Professional Psychology discusses specific cultural expectations that can make ethnically or racially diverse students feel they should not ask for help.
The first time each student appears on screen, his or her specific diagnosis is given as a caption. Although they speak naturally in informal settings, in a few instances quick cuts fragment the students’ responses, making the presentation seem less straightforward than intended. The student interviews are edited to provide structure by addressing one issue at a time, but many segments are very brief, and separate issues are not always well defined.
A Culture Undiscovered will be useful for raising faculty and staff awareness of learning disabilities in higher education, but is perhaps most appropriate as a peer resource for students. The program offers encouragement from learning disabled students who have risen above social stigmas and negative experiences to be successful in college. It is recommended for secondary and post-secondary libraries and for learning disabled resource collections in colleges and high schools.