DIS 499/599: Module 4: Topic 1, Online Lesson
Week 9: 3/18 - 3/24
Objectives:
* To identify issues in the delivery of support
* To identify and raise awareness of different styles of helping, their underlying assumptions, beliefs and practices
To complete this assignment successfully, you should:
1. Read the following lesson.
2. 
Submit your
response to the following assignment by midnight on Sunday, March 24th.
The assignment is worth 5 points.
Helping
Styles
A
study done by Carl Dunst in 1993 identified five different styles of
helping, based on the following defining characteristics of beliefs and
practices of case managers:
1)
Adherence to family support principles;
2)
Enabling and empowering philosophy, including
a) treating
families as capable, and able to become more competent;
b) positive
and proactive in the way they talked about and interacted with families;
c) using
strengths-based rather than deficit-oriented approaches;
d) creating
opportunities for families to participate in family-centered
interventions";
3)
Resource-based approaches to intervention
a) using
existing resources flexibly instead of existing services rigidly
to meet the needs of families
b) using
informal as well as formal supports
c) responding
rather than prescribing;
4)
Consumer-driven approaches to intervention as opposed to
professional-centered or paternalistic approaches; and
5) Family-centered intervention practices-going beyond saying to doing--practicing what they preach.
We've already read and talked a lot about the topics imbedded in these characteristics. Re-read this list and mentally review the topics (family support principles, empowerment, etc.) keeping in mind how different characteristics of helping affect the outcomes of support services.
From Dunst's work five styles of helping emerged:
Helping Style A:
includes all of the above characteristics, and applying the philosophy
equally to all the different families;
Helping Style B:
includes
most of the above characteristics, with the exception of using professional
and service-based solutions;
Helping Style C:
is a belief-system
that is mostly deficit-oriented; a professional perspective; focuses on
service-based solutions; emphasizes correcting dysfunction; and sees some
families as capable but others as not;
Helping Style D:
demonstrates
a moderate to strong agreement with family support principles, but lack
of behavioral adherence to the principles--saying but not doing; expecting
gratitude from families; paternalistic; no shared responsibility or
collaboration;
Helping Style E:
is a belief
system inconsistent with family support principles; it has a strong
paternalistic viewpoint; is deficit-oriented with the belief that families
generally are incompetent; is a professional-driven and service-based approach;
imposes values on families; and doesn't value consumer-driven and needs-based
practices.
Words of Wisdom from Carl Dunst:
"It is not just an issue of whether problems are solved or needs are met, but rather the manner in which mobilization of resources occurs that is a major determinant of the empowerment of individuals or groups."
"To be truly successful in helping relationships, professionals must take pride in and derive intrinsic personal rewards in seeing others become more competent and self-sustaining."
Dunst, C. and C. Trivette. (1994) What is effective helping? Supporting and strengthening families. Cambridge,MA: Brookline Books.
1. Read each of the following quotes.
2. Determine which one of the helping styles (A, B, C, D, or E) best fits the opinion expressed in the quotes.
3. The easiest way to submit your response will be to cut and paste the following quotes into the body of an email message, or an attachment, and BEFORE the number of each quote type in the letter that corresponds to the helping style you believe is being expressed.
4. Unless you feel compelled to do so, you do not need to justify your responses. Granted there is some overlap between the styles and the differences may be a matter of degree, so there could be more than one correct response.
5. 
Email
your assignment by midnight March 24th to Becky.Raabe@nau.edu.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
1. "The
parent knows where to come if she has a problem.
The mother knows we have all the answers."
2. "The
mother decided if she wanted the nutritionist to continue to make home visits.
She decided it wasn't very helpful, so we discontinued this
service."
3. "We
have an honest and up-front relationship. We
both feel we have a good partnership. After
the family decides what they need, we sit down together and come up with a plan
to access the needed resources."
4. "We
allow the child to remain in the care of the parents.
We know that if we didn't provide them our services, the parents couldn't
take care of the child."
5. "We
put (the person with a disability) in a job coaching program (because) he needs
to learn to work independently some day."
6. "It's
a friendly relationship, but there is not much exchange of information."
7. "The
family has total control over whether their daughter participates in our
program."
8. "If my
beliefs run counter to those of the family, I don't bother trying to change
their mind because it's not worth the time and effort."
9. "The
mother knows much better what her daughter's needs are and decides what services
she gets from our program and when we provide the services."
10. "The family knows it has a lot of control and choices about what we do and when we do it. We also build on family strengths. During our interventions, we always try to build on the things families already do well."
11. "I
let the (caregiver) pick out clothes to buy for (the person with a
disability)."
12. "We
encourage use of the same physicians and dentists, and encourage the use of the
same playgrounds and restaurants, as other people in the community."
13. "Our
staff decides what services the family needs.
We explain to the family what our plans are."
14. "We
tell the parents once a year what we are doing with their son."
Once you have completed this activity you should:
Go on to Online Reading
or
Go back to Topic 1
Email instructor: Becky.Raabe@nau.edu
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