Funded Projects

Overcoming Barriers in Spanish Speaking Families

Project Year

2023

City & State

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Program Name

CATCH Implementation

Topic

Child Development/Developmental delay

Program Description

The Problem: Early Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) identification is associated with improved long-term developmental outcomes. However, the latest CDC publication report supports that there are still several areas across the United States where the percentage of Hispanic children identified with ASD is lower when compared to White or Black children. Hispanic children receive an ASD diagnosis less often and 2-2.5 years later than non-Hispanic White children, are more likely to be diagnosed with more severe ASD when compared to non-Hispanic White children, receive fewer specialty care services, and have a higher number of unmet service needs. Lack of ASD knowledge in the Hispanic community contributes to this disparity. There are high levels of mental health and disability stigma in the Hispanic community, creating a barrier to seeking care. Other barriers are poor access to care due to poverty, limited English proficiency, and lack of empowerment to take advantage of services. In our practice, most of our Hispanic patients are being referred for an evaluation past the age of three years old. Parents report that they had concerns for their child’s development early on but these were dismissed by their provider. Most parents report that they do not know what typical development looks like and have never heard about ASD before. There is a growing need for effective, affordable, and culturally appropriate interventions for Hispanic children at-risk for ASD and their families. Primary Setting: Our goal is to recruit Spanish-speaking individuals in the greater Chattanooga area, for monthly Child Development workshops in the Spanish language. We will use the common areas of La Paz Chattanooga, and St. Stephen Catholic Church as primary locations for our workshop. The goal is to create a sustainable framework for regular workshops in the future. Number of children Affected: The CDC data estimates that one in six children in the U.S. have one or more developmental disabilities/delays. In addition, current national data estimates that 1 in 44 children will have an ASD diagnosis. Project Goal: Developmental monitoring can help identify children at risk for ASD earlier. This should be done by healthcare providers, caregivers, and early childhood educators. During developmental monitoring, the child’s developmental milestones are watched according to their age to see if they are meeting them when expected. This is very important because the majority of children with ASD show signs before the age of two. By noticing delays, caregivers can seek intervention sooner. Parents play a very important role in identifying ASD and developmental delays. Our project will address the knowledge gap, giving caregivers and early childhood educators the resources, information and tools to identify early signs of autism and developmental delays. In addition, we are also looking to help empower the Hispanic community and help them become advocates for their children’s health and development. Proposed Intervention With the help of our community partnerships we hope to implement a monthly Spanish workshop for Spanish speaking families in the Greater Chattanooga area community. This workshop will discuss topics related to ASD, child development, developmental milestones, developmental delays, and advocacy. In a 12 month period we estimate we can reach over 200 different Spanish speaking individuals. Anticipated Outcomes As a result of this initiative, the Hispanic community will have a better understanding of what is considered typical development, expectations within child development, and what are the early signs of ASD. Our main goal is to increase awareness of atypical child development and improve referral timing of Hispanic children with the goal of an ASD diagnosis before the age of three years old.

Project Goal

We aim to address the knowledge gap in Latino families concerning child development and autism.

Project Objective 1

We will reach and engage at least 240 families by June 2024.

Project Objective 2

Through our developmental workshops, we aim to increase attendee scores by 50% on specific developmental milestones and autism spectrum disorder test questions. Outcomes will be measured by the pre test and post test results.

Project Objective 3

We will connect at least 50 families to child development resources by June 2024

AAP District

District IV

Institutional Name

Siskin Children's Institute

Contact 1

Lorena Ferreira Corzo