Deputy Ambassadors Reflect on Experiences Working with Spanish Speaking Families

July 16, 2018

NIFE OK Deputy Ambassadors

Nutrition education for people with disabilities is lacking, especially among Spanish-speaking families. The opportunity we had with Nutrition is for Everyone to specifically impact the Spanish-speaking families was unique and we were able to make a positive impact in a short amount of time. We immediately gained the trust of the community because we are Spanish-speaking and also have children with disabilities. We also made connections with health clinics within the community and so we taught classes in locations they were already familiar with. We decided not to teach something we had not already tried at home with our families, for example, when we shared a recipe for black bean brownies and spinach tortillas, we made sure we tried the recipes with our children first. Some of our favorite classes were in the summer when the children were also involved. We taught the children the food groups with fun activities and about new fruits and vegetables through taste, sight, and touch.

The families appreciated their children being included in the education and saw some positive results, for example, one adolescent decided to give up soda after a class where we visually demonstrated how much sugar is in one can of soda and months later was still only drinking soda occasionally. The families also benefited from our classes by making connections with each other and encouraged each other not only in providing healthy food for their children, but shared information about other resources like support groups. Throughout this process, we both gained more experience teaching and plan to continue engaging with the community as advocates for people with disabilities.