Description
Early intervention programs are one approach to addressing developmental concerns in young children at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Programs that focus on training and coaching parents to utilize intervention strategies with their children in daily routines have demonstrated positive outcomes for both children and their parents. However, much of the current research in this area is focused on European-American families and it is unclear if the results can be generalized across families of different cultures. Cultural adaptations of current intervention programs may help increase participation and completion rates of these evidence-based programs. Current clinical practice can help inform what areas of existing programs may require cultural adaptation. The purpose of this study is to examine therapists’ delivery of the parent-training intervention Project ImPACT for Toddlers in community settings to both Hispanic and non Hispanic families, in order to compare across these two populations and identify potential differences. Data analyses involved computation of descriptive statistics across all coding categories, as well as comparisons of codes between Hispanic versus non-Hispanic families via MANOVA. The findings demonstrate that therapists delivering Project ImPACT for Toddlers are not currently adapting the coaching structure of the program to address cultural differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic families. Potential reasons for lack of adaptations are discussed.
