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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (8 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2018)
This study examined cultural beliefs about ASD and its causes among Mexican-heritage families. In focus group interviews, we asked 25 immigrant parents of children with ASD to identify words they associated with ASD and its causes. Participants free-listed, ranked, and justified their responses. Mixed methods analyses utilized saliency scores to calculate responses. Deductive interview analyses justified participants' responses. Salient responses for ASD perceptions included specific characteristics about the child (e.g., loving) and perceptions about lack of resources. Salient responses for ASD causes were vaccines, genetics, and a combination of genetics and environment. Inductive analyses revealed distinct beliefs about social stigma, child characteristics, factors supporting development, and parents' emotional stress. Interpretations linked these beliefs to promising adaptations in diagnosis and treatment.
    Cover page: Amor and Social Stigma: ASD Beliefs Among Immigrant Mexican Parents
    • Thesis
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2023)

    Parental engagement enhances academic outcomes. While numerous studies have examined the academic benefits of parental engagement among families of different sociocultural backgrounds, limited research has focused on Mexican-heritage families rearing autistic children. Mexican heritage (MH) families make up a growing number of students in K-12 and have increased in autism diagnoses. Utilizing Barton and colleagues' (2004) definition of parental engagement, this study explored parental engagement among Mexican heritage families rearing autistic children. Research questions examined (1) MH families' distribution of household and educational tasks, (2) MH families' perceptions of educational engagement, (3) MH parents' description of their educational engagement practices, and (4) MH household's enactment of educationally engaging practices in their daily lives. This dissertation study employed a convergent parallel design using a survey, focus groups interviews, individual interviews, and video recordings of parents engaging in educational activities with their children to investigate findings. Results from this study revealed that MH mothers are the main participants in caregiving (i.e. playing, feeding, bathing child) and educational (i.e. speaking to teachers, attending IEP meetings) activities. MH families described three distinct themes related to educational engagement, educational engagement tools, mother’s educational engagement traits, and an independent future. MH parents’ descriptions of practices included parent versus educator’s perceptions of educational engagement, childrearing practices, parent-educator partnerships, supportive environments, and the impacts of COVID-19 on child development. Lastly, enacted practices revealed key strategies such as mothers providing resources, attending to their child’s mood, and at-home support of educational concepts. Findings from this study may be used to modify parental engagement strategies of special education teachers in Mexican heritage communities, provide an understanding of academic engagement strategies in MH homes, and help adapt existing parent engagement practices to better fit those of the home environment.

      Cover page: Perceptions and Practices: Parent Educational Engagement of Mexican Heritage Families Rearing Autistic Children
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2023)
      To understand the ASD diagnosis and treatment pathways for US families, N = 38 Mexican-heritage mothers were interviewed about how and when they obtained an ASD diagnosis for their children. Most children (84%) were diagnosed between two and three years old. One-third of mothers reported receiving four to seven referrals before diagnosis. Mothers identified multiple diagnosis circumstances including two diagnoses and services offered before diagnosis. A multiple case study design documented the diagnosis and treatment experiences of four representative participants. As compared to previous studies that utilized a deficit lens to rationalize barriers to diagnosis and treatment (e.g., parents not knowledgeable about ASD), these findings revealed a complex understanding of how structural barriers (e.g., immigration status), initial diagnosis rejection among caregivers, and abrupt service cancellation complicated the diagnosis and treatment process. Implications identified suggestions to optimize and streamline ASD diagnosis and treatment pathways for Mexican heritage families.
        Cover page: ASD Diagnosis and Treatment Experiences Among Mexican Heritage Families
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2021)
        This article presents a systematic review of the recent literature from 2005 onwards on the social participation of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in inclusive elementary and secondary schools. These students may experience particular challenges in social interaction and communication within mainstream settings, due to the specific characteristics associated with ASD. In the context of this review, social participation has been defined as a multidimensional concept including four key aspects: (1) friendships/relationships, (2) contacts/interactions, (3) ASD students' social self-perception, and (4) acceptance by classmates. This multidimensional framework has been adopted to examine how the inclusion of students with ASD in general K-12 settings shapes their social participation status. We reviewed 24 studies in relation to the four key aspects of social participation for the students with ASD. Overall, the results are mixed. On the whole, students with ASD have been found to maintain a lower social participation status within their schools, but some encouraging findings have also been reported, especially at the elementary school level. In the secondary school level, students with ASD were found to face more challenges in regards to peer social participation and interactions. Implications for special and inclusive practice and research are being discussed.
          Cover page: Social participation of students with autism spectrum disorder in general education settingsCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2020)
          This study examined the daily routines and activities of Mexican-heritage mothers and their children with autism spectrum disorder. Experienced sampling methods were used to capture families' current daily routines and activities, how parents valued those activities, and whether the activity was part of the child's autism spectrum disorder intervention. A total of 32 mothers were texted five times per day over five consecutive days for a total of 721 observations. Mothers frequently engaged in Self-Care (e.g. showering), General Caregiving (e.g. cooking), and House Chores (e.g. laundry). Children engaged in activities in which interventions could easily be integrated (e.g. Academics, Self-Care, and Playing with Others). Families spent less than one-third (26.1%) of their activities participating in interventions. Mothers and children jointly spent time in General Caregiving, Playing with Others, and Using Electronics. Practitioners should focus on integrating evidence-based interventions into daily joint routine activities.
            Cover page: Child-rearing routines among Mexican-heritage children with autism spectrum disorder
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2017)
            Among typically developing children, many characteristics have been associated with parents' expectations for their children's adjustment to school and academic progress. Despite the history of increased parental involvement in the education of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relative to parents of children without ASD, there is little research on the educational expectations that parents hold for their young children with ASD and how they are formed. In the current study, we addressed this gap by using a mixed methods design to examine the association between parents' expectations for the level of success their children would achieve during the current school year, and multiple child-, parent/family-, and teacher/school-level factors, among parents of 4 to 7 year olds with ASD (N 121). When these different factors were considered simultaneously, children's externalizing behaviors, parents' educational level, and parents' employment status were found to be significantly associated with parents' expectations of schooling.
              Cover page: Parents' Educational Expectations for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2015)
              Research indicates that mothers of children with ID who receive familial support experience less stress than those who receive less support. Less is known about the relation of support to mothers' evaluation of parenting self-efficacy, particularly in Latino families. We examined the relationship of different types of family support to life satisfaction and parenting self-efficacy (PSE), and explored whether income and ethnicity moderated these relationships. Interviews with 84 Latino and 37 White participants revealed that partner emotional support predicted life satisfaction and PSE in both ethnic groups, with a stronger relationship evident for the PSE of Latino mothers. Income was not a significant moderator. These findings provide guidance for more effective family interventions targeted toward Latinos.
                Cover page: Support and Self-Efficacy Among Latino and White Parents of Children With ID
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2015)
                The question of how home activities advance the early social and cognitive development of Latino children receives growing attention from psychologists and social scientists. Some scholars and practitioners, focused on promoting "school readiness," frame the problem as weak parenting, signaled by insufficient rich language or academic skills. Other theorists, rooted in ecocultural theory, argue that early socialization and cognitive engagement are culturally situated within routine home activities. These activity structures vary and change over time as families acculturate, adapting to local social ecologies. Little is known empirically about the activity structures within Latino homes, including how young children participate. We detail the social architecture and cognitive engagement pertaining to 6 prevalent home activities in which 24 Mexican American 4-year-olds were engaged over 14 months. We then report how children participate in these 6 activities, and their potential relevance to the cognitive skills gap seen at school entry. We found that children's activities reproduced heritage language, symbols, and knowledge less often than suggested in prior literature; children's typical level of cognitive engagement varied greatly among tasks; and the distribution of time spent in activities is associated with the mother's school attainment and home language.
                  Cover page: Home Activities of Mexican American Children: Structuring Early Socialization and Cognitive Engagement
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