Latine Voices to Inform Early Intervention Practice: Espero que Nos Escuchen

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Author(s)

Anne L Larson, Andrea I Castillo, Jennifer A Hall-Lande, Mirka Zhagui

Description

Latine families constitute a large and growing population with approximately one-quarter of U.S. children identified as having a Latine background (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2024 ). Although often mistaken as a homogeneous group, Latine families are diverse in their national origin and home language(s), as well as in preferences, beliefs, and values related to child-rearing and caregiver–child interactions (e.g., Guiberson & Ferris, 2019 ; Rodriguez & Olswang, 2003 ). They vary in experiences with the U.S. education system and with views on disability (García et al., 2000 ). Unfortunately, Latine families, like other racially and ethnically marginalized groups, also encounter various forms of historically rooted discrimination, even in Early Intervention (EI; Batz & Yadav, 2024 ). These issues contribute to inequities in access and service, and impact family experiences and outcomes (Division for Early Childhood [DEC], 2023 ; Love & Beneke, 2021 ).

This article centers on the voices of 26 Latine mothers who shared experiences and discussed ways to improve Part C services (Castillo et al., 2023 ). Mothers used English, Spanish, or were multilingual in those (and other) languages. They had family heritage from the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. Most families (76%) immigrated to the U.S. mainland around age 22 (range = 13–32), with variations in education and professions. About half (45%) reported experiencing financial strain within their family while accessing EI. Mothers participated in surveys and interviews. They shared a heartfelt appeal to EI programs: “Espero que nos escuchen” <I hope you hear us>. In response to this call, we aim to amplify Latine families’ perspectives and recommendations by offering actionable strategies for practitioners to enhance accessibility and engagement in EI for Latine families.

Our team includes authors with connections to the EI system, as family members who have participated in EI, practitioners, advocates, researchers, and students. We all recognize the pervasive impact of racism, ableism, and other systems of discrimination and are committed to ongoing learning to mitigate biases and disentangle assumptions that influence our work.

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Date

2025 

Type

Peer-Reviewed Article 

Publisher

SAGE Publications, Inc.