In Fadiman book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down; there is an outstanding conflict between a Hmong’s family and an American health care institution regarding the treatment and cure of a girl called Lia Lee, who had epilepsy. The author expounds a comprehensive analysis and perspectives of the Hmong family's culture concerning the dilemma of medical treatment. Both parties are driven by their own beliefs, which they intend to follow and fulfil ( Fadiman, 1997) . Therefore, a conflict arises between the Hmong family and Western medical practices. The American medical procedures believe that some illness needs to be treated by concentrating o the affected part of the body, either through chemicals or surgery. In contrast, Hmong medical beliefs understand that infection is caused by the inappropriateness of the victim's souls and spirits. For instance, the Hmong family interpreted the epileptic disease as a condition where a person's soul escapes their body and become extinct ( Fadiman, 1997) . The Hmong knew that the disease is treated by conducting rituals and ceremonies to expel the spirits from the patient. The Western doctors perceived the practices as outdated, and they recommended their approaches to the family. The two radical views of medicine brought an outstanding conflict on how Lia could be treated. Besides, the language barrier played a large role in escalating the dilemma since the cross-cultural misinterpretation was adamant in treating her condition. Both parties had their rigid perspectives on the disease and their beliefs; therefore, the difficulty was supposed to be handled professionally using specific knowledge and skills to bring a positive outcome. Besides, one can learn many lessons from Lee's case and adopt a stronger way of analysing a suitable environment for childhood development.
According to Fadiman, both the Western medical practitioners and the Hmong family had their perspective of different treatments of epileptic, which was accompanied by their knowledge, attitudes, skills, and dispositions. Their full trust in their way of medication was the main cause of the dilemma. The dilemma was on the correct way of treating epileptic Lee. This main dilemma was effectuated by the cultural conflict and compromise, power, family, knowledge, and love. The western medications and the family had different perspectives on the above factors, which contributed to the escalation of the dilemma ( Fadiman, 1997) . For instance, the Hmong culture had a healthy living in the mountains of Laos, where they practised agriculture and herbs. They believed that many illnesses could be cured by rubbing the infected part with alcohol, coins, and eggs. Besides, the tvix neeb was used to heal dangerous diseases such as evil spirits and lost souls ( Fadiman, 1997) . The family rejected Western medicine because they perceived them as taboo. They had a strong cultural structure that did not allow adulteration of their culture. They perceived the origin of diseases as spiritual, and since they had earlier treated many ailments without the help of the Western doctors, they were confident with their medicinal practices.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
According to Fadiman (1997), some successful midwives and doctors had earlier healed occurrent diseases in the neighbourhood. So, there was no need to embrace the new treatment method if their culture recovered some disorders. In contrast, Western doctors had done numerous treatments for many patients, which resulted in recovery. Their attitudes towards the traditional treatment methods were biased since they thought they had the best version of the knowledge in medicine. However, their expertise in the modern understanding of medicine saw Lee admitted to the hospital later for better treatment. According to Fadiman, the Western doctors did not allow the family to air their medication views because they had a limited idea of their medicine. The Hmong believed that people got sick due to various encounters with the evil spirit. Modern doctors, who did not understand anything to do with the soul, should integrate both beliefs, knowledge, and skills to treat many patients ( Fadiman, 1997) . Besides, Lia's former doctors incorporated both skills, and they were pronounced successful.
Another factor supporting the Western doctor’s perspective on their treatment was the inadequate power bestowed on the Hmong people. The Western doctors believed the Hmong people who were refugees had a curtailed culture ( Fadiman, 1997) . The country made them dependant on others for sustainability. Also, their freedom was limited, and they had no jobs, no skills, and were poor in communicating. This unfortunate state made them make less contribution towards their children's health. On the issue of knowledge and skills, the Western medication was considered more skilled than the Hmong's people. The doctors had gone to schools and engaged in many practices that make their profession very successful. However, the fact that the family had kept Lia healthy and alive for more than twenty-five years, using their medication, shows that the Western health practitioners should embrace more of the Hmong's practices ( Fadiman, 1997) . The refugees had a strong fibre that held their interactions as a family firm, which enabled them to have a concrete perspective of their practices. Their families were a source of strength for Lia. Although the Hmong families are reputed to have many children, her family took care of her, dressed her, and committed to her recovery ( Fadiman, 1997) . Lee was loved and cherished by her family, which is why they had no trust in other people taking care of Lee. The Hmong people had developed skills that enabled them to coarse well and allowed low interruption from the outside culture.
More skills are needed to solve cultural conflicts, making dialogues with parties involved in a row. For successful handling of a prominent dilemma, which involved the health practitioners and the culture-oriented Hmong’s family in Fadiman’s book, incorporating effective methods of solving problems is needed. For instance, the characters found in the book, which consisted of medical professionals, and Lia's family, used a collection of skills, knowledge, disposition, and attitude to solve the dilemma ( Barrera et al., 2012) . As seen earlier, the difficulty was based on a cultural difference, where both characters had their own beliefs on medication use. Lee's family believed that many diseases resulted from evil spirits that need to be separated from the patients. In contrast, the doctors believed in medicine and surgery. A child growing in such a conflicted society needs a practitioner who understands diverse linguistic and cultural diversity. When the professionals embrace the diversity of culture, positive interaction between the children, families, and professionals is achieved. According to Barrera et al. (2012), more critical stories can be covered through proper communication between parties involved in a cultural conflict. An effective model of responsive, respectful, and reciprocal communication is useful to professionalise the people in the culture. About Fadiman's book, I think the medical professionals were competent in solving the cultural dilemma. The first attitude they used understood the Hmong's culture and the dynamics that held the people's behaviours (Fadiman, 1997). For instance, the doctors had to accept that they lived in united families, where they loved each other.
Also, they understood that the unity of the people made Lee fight her illness for a long time. Secondly, the doctors used the skills of communication to respect what Hmong's people believed. Through communication, the doctors were able to solve the dilemma of culture by incorporating some of the traditional methods of treatments in their practices. Also, they integrated diverse perspectives of the people when Lee's mother was educated about the importance of modern medication. Besides, the professionals reframed the differences between their beliefs and the families to complement their activities. Therefore, their knowledge in medicine was upgraded. The cultural difference was dissolved when the professionals ignored the stereotypes found in the refugees who identified with diseases ( Barrera et al., 2012) . Lastly, the doctors held a critical insight into collaborative relationships, which enabled them to strengthen cultural diversity. According to Fadiman (1997), Lee was healed after the professionals bridged the gap between their culture and their modern beliefs. Another positive outcome is that the people started to embrace the new treatment methods and encourage all family members to maintain proper cohesion between the Western health practitioners and the villages.
There are a lot of lessons to learn from Lee's case. For instance, the book's most interesting aspects are care, gentleness when dealing with children, stability, and the diversification of culture. The book presented a dramatic, enlightening, and informative situation to all readers ( Barrera et al., 2012) . I understand that a child is born in a society and culture that they have not chosen. It is the duty of the family and the organisation to protect the newborn from any negative intrusion that might dilute the culture of the particular community. As a childhood practitioner, I can use relevant lessons from Lee's case to set a suitable environment for the proper growth and development of a child within a specific culture. First, I should identify the primary language used in communication around the child ( Barrera et al., 2012) . The child should have a dominant language used in touch to avoid intrusion of other languages, which might bring more confusion in an integrated community of different culture. Second, the child should be taught how to embrace different cultures surrounding them for proper cohesion ( Barrera et al., 2012) . Cultural identity is appropriate because it gives a child a sense of belonging.
Also, the role of the parent in a diversified culture should be outlined well to enable the child to have a supportive emotional change and love. For instance, in Fadiman's book, Lee's family loved her so much that it was almost impossible to take her out for treatment. The childhood setting that arose from such incidence is that the child grows up loving their family and culture. The last insight I can use from Lee's case is the use of sensory-cognitive abilities, which enables the child to recognise the society values, strategies for solving problems, and acceptance of diverse culture ( Barrera et al., 2012) . Moreover, Lee's story has changed my thinking about how to work with families. Lee's family had a close relationship that was held together by love. For instance, Lee's sister May would not let Lee go to the hospital, which made me think about some family traits which can be delusional and unreasonable. Although there might be obvious love between family members, there is a need to let go of affection to get help from other people. Many people must make sacrifices to work well with the families.
References
Barrera, I., Corso, R. M., & Macpherson, T. D. (2012). Skilled dialogue: Strategies for responding to cultural diversity in early childhood . Brookes Publishing, PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD Brookes 21285-0624.
Fadiman, A. (1997). The spirit catches you, and you fall A Hmong Child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=a8oc9o4yPNgC&oi=fnd&pg=PP3&dq=fadiman+1997 .
