Promising Strategies for Collaborating With Hispanic Parents During Family-Centered Speech-Language Intervention

Abstract

Early intervention programs are developed on the premise that parents or primary caregivers generalize treatment strategies within naturalistic environments. The diverse characteristics of children within early language intervention reinforce the urgency for services that consider the needs of each child within his or her broader social, cultural, and familial context. Furthermore, effective language interventions require the integration of many factors including cognitive, linguistic, and cultural influences. This article presents strategies for implementing collaborative, family-centered language intervention with Hispanic parents and their children with communication disabilities. General strategies include establishing a trusting relationship, valuing parents as experts of their children, creating mutually constructed goals, accommodating families’ schedules and roles, individualizing intervention in the home language, and encouraging parental education and advocacy. The intent of this article is to guide understanding of communication disabilities among young Hispanic children and provide speech-language pathologists with information on implementing evidence-based practices.