Latino Families' Daily Experiences with Children with ASD

Background:  

Families of children with autism spectrum disorders experience many disruptions of day-to-day life that are associated with lifestyle issues (Stein, Foran & Cermak, in Press.)  A diverse body of research has shown that these parents display increased levels of stress, depression, anxiety and physical health challenges (Abbeduto et al, 2004; Boyd, 2002, Eisenhower, Baker, & Blacher, 2005; Estes et al., 2009; Grey, 2003; Hastings, Kovshoff, Ward, et al., 2005; Herring et al., 2006; Ingersoll & Hambrick, 2010; Yamada et al, 2007).  Latino families encounter unique additional challenges including a late diagnosis, fragmented services, and lack of information in their native language (Overton, Fielding & Garcia de Alba, 2007; Rodriguez, 2009; Williams, Atkins & Sole, 2009). 

Objectives:  

The experience of Latino families with children with ASD has seldom been described. The purpose of the study was to obtain detailed understandings of the daily experiences of families with a child with ASD, as well as their daily activities, routines, and coping strategies. This information will be used to develop an intervention approach that is sensitive to the unique needs of Latino families. 

Methods:  

Six Latino families of children with ASD were interviewed and audiotaped for analysis. Qualitative analysis was used to identify experiences unique to this population.

Results:  

The results of the study suggest that Latino families of children with ASD encounter similar  issues as Caucasian families in addition to unique issues such as the role of the father/husband in the family, challenges to family participation in assessment and intervention services,  the role of extended family, and cultural factors that may contribute to diagnostic delay. Parents expressed a need for parent programs that would address the multiple challenges facing this population.

Conclusions:  

There is a need to further explore the specific and unique needs of Latino families. The results of this study will be used to develop and test the feasibility of a comprehensive lifestyle redesign (LR) intervention intended to promote the health, well-being, and quality of life of individual Latino family members and the family system as a whole.