Perform

Faduma (FA-du-mah) (she/her) is a 17-year-old high school student with intellectual disabilities. Her name was given to her, as it is a tradition in Somalia for first-born females. Faduma is an active and engaged student. She enjoys participating in school activities and has made many friends. On the weekends, she enjoys cooking with her large extended family, participating in cultural events, and doing her schoolwork with the support of her tutor at the Minnesota Somali Community Center. Faduma’s teachers, parents, and IEP team work together to help her achieve her goal of becoming a certified nurse assistant (CNA).

Faduma moved with her family in 2011 to Minneapolis, MN, after her family experienced famine in Somalia that killed more than a quarter of a million people. They joined her grandparents in Minnesota, who also fled Somalia like many others in the 1990s when the country’s civil war broke out. Despite employment opportunities and community resources, things are not as simple as they seem for Faduma’s family. Two months before Faduma arrived in Minneapolis, six young Somalis from the area were arrested. Federal prosecutors said that the men planned to sneak into Syria and join the ISIS terror group. Then, a short time later, a Somali man was shot dead after stabbing 10 people at a mall in St. Cloud, a city about 60 miles away from Minneapolis. These headlines are an outward sign that things may not be as simple as they seem for Faduma and her family. Radicalization and terrorism are real things that are affecting the community. Somali people in Minneapolis are very conscious of how people outside the community perceive them, and they are concerned about being unfairly portrayed as terrorists. The current political climate, including an executive order limiting travel for people from majority Muslim nations (e.g., Somalia), has many members of Faduma’s family worried. She has heard her parents talk about friends and siblings being unable to come to the United States. They cannot currently leave Somalia now because they are unsure whether they will be able to return.

Faduma needs help understanding complex instructions and concepts; she also requires additional support and accommodations to participate in regular classroom activities. Her parents support their daughter and are actively involved in her education. They have expressed concerns about Faduma’s academic progress and have requested additional support from the school. Her teachers have also noticed that Faduma struggles with reading comprehension, math, and writing skills.

Faduma’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team has recommended that she receives specialized instruction and support from a special education teacher. The special education teacher works with Faduma in small groups to provide individualized instruction that meets her unique learning needs. The special education teacher has also implemented various strategies to support Faduma’s learning. For example, the teacher uses visual aids, such as pictures, charts, and diagrams, to help her understand concepts better. The teacher also breaks down complex instructions into smaller, more manageable steps, which helps Faduma follow directions. Faduma’s IEP team has recommended that she receive speech therapy to improve her communication skills. The speech therapist works with Faduma to develop her speech and language abilities, and help her better understand and express her thoughts and ideas.

As part of her transition plan, Faduma plans to visit Normandale Community College in the fall to explore its CNA program. Her parents worry that Faduma will be unable to keep up with the academic demands of a CNA program. Recently, they emailed her IEP manager and asked for a meeting to discuss additional post-high school options for Faduma. When Faduma learned about this communication, she was furious with her parents.