The concept of family-centered, culturally responsive practices in early childhood intervention is based on principles of respect for and acceptance of each family's ethnicity, culture, language, and worldviews. Parental beliefs and expectations about children's development tend to reflect cultural perspectives of their community, and may differ from those espoused by professionals who serve them. In contrast to deficit-oriented interpretations often attributed by professionals to such disparities, sociocultural theory offers a framework for understanding beliefs in their cultural context. Using examples from a study of Mexican American mothers' beliefs about their children with language disabilities, this article interprets the mothers' views about language and disability from a sociocultural perspective and discusses implications for early childhood intervention.
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