SUPPORTING LATINO FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Although there has been an increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) around the world, many countries do not have the infrastructure and capacity to meet many of the needs of individuals with ASD and their families. This is of great concern, since it is critical that services and supports begin as soon as possible to enhance the child's prognosis. Thus, in order to provide support to this population, we developed and piloted a family educational program designed for Latino families of children with ASD. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected to gain an understanding of how the program impacted the families of children with ASD. Overall, the findings indicated that the program showed promise, since it assisted families that had limited resources available in their community to advocate and support their children.