Reflective Tool: Equity Reflective Supervision

Sometimes as reflective practice partners, we don’t always know how to ask the questions that will elicit responses from our reflective partners that will help strengthen the knowledge and skills needed to provide culturally responsive EI services. These questions can serve as effective conversation starters.

1. What feelings come up for you when you see this family’s name come up on your schedule?
   1. Where do these feelings come from?
   2. Are these implicit biases or cultural mismatches that may be contributing to these feelings?
   3. How do you think that this family feels when they see an appointment with you coming up on the calendar?
2. What may Autism/Disability and other terms mean in this culture?
   1. Follow up: Let’s research it together. Where can we find out more information about how disability is framed?
   2. How does this conceptualization of disability compare to your conceptualization of disability? What are the underlying similarities or value differences in each?
3. It’s my understanding that you’re talking about implicit bias in your DEI group. You’re working with a lot of families with [insert specific identity]. Let’s unpack some of the societal messages you’ve gotten about [insert specific identity].
   1. How may that impact your interactions with this family?
   2. Let’s find some resources to help you learn more about this group so that you have more information to help fill in the gaps.
   3. What are some of the cultural differences that exist between you and families with this identity?
4. What do you see as potential points of connection with this family?
   1. What are the intentional uses of self that may be useful here?
   2. How can you start conversations with families to learn more about their Funds of Knowledge?
   3. What are some ways that you could learn about what the family enjoys so that you can integrate it into the sessions?
5. Let’s think about what the experience may feel like for families on your caseload.
   1. How do you prepare for people coming into your home? What feelings impact how you prep your house? How is this the same or different from the way that [insert particular family] readies themselves for your visits?
   2. How would you feel if I started coming to your house for reflective supervision meetings instead of meeting in my office? How would you feel having someone with the power to fire or promote you in your home?
   3. How do you think that families see the power dynamic between you and them? How do you think that impacts how they ready their home or what they share with you?
   4. Tell me about a time that you felt judged.  How did that change the way you interacted with the people you felt were judging you?
   5. What are your experiences with stereotype threat? How has the possibility of being judged changed how you behave in a stressful or vulnerable situation