Barriers to Access and Cultural Considerations for Caregiver-Mediated Interventions: Insights From the Ecocultural Family Interview With Latine Families

Abstract

As the U.S. Latine population continues to grow, cultural factors, socioeconomic challenges, and other barriers need to be addressed to guarantee that families and their autistic children receive appropriate and meaningful services. One cost-effective, evidence-based approach to delivering early intervention is caregiver-mediated intervention. When considering the applicability of caregiver-mediated intervention in diverse populations, it is imperative that researchers and purveyors both critically account for influential cultural factors (e.g., socioeconomic factors and racial trauma) that may affect the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention and adapt procedures accordingly. Seven semi-structured interviews were collected and analyzed using applied thematic analysis to identify cultural factors relevant to cultural adaptation needs of Latine caregivers of autistic children. Themes regarding autism stigma, caregiver strain, acculturation stress, service and system disparities, and future aspirations emerged that inform cultural adaptation of caregiver-mediated intervention in early childhood.