Advocacy for the “Abandonados”: Harnessing Cultural Beliefs for Latino Families and Their Children With Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

AbstractCommunity services and supports for children with intellectual disabilities (ID) can ameliorate the negative effects of caregiving and enhance child outcomes. For example, in Central and South America, many children with disabilities are institutionalized with inadequate sanitation and medical care. In the United States, certain demographic factors (e.g., poverty, limited access to healthcare, language barriers, and immigrant status) contribute to the underdiagnosis and poor‐quality treatment of Latino families and their children with ID, thus limiting their access to effective community and family supports. This paper utilizes a cultural lens to target advocacy as a mechanism for improving access to local community services and social supports for children with ID. The author examines specific cultural beliefs regarding family support and child development among Latino families, and provides policy recommendations derived from these cultural beliefs that aim to enhance advocacy efforts among Latino caregivers. The author notes that effective advocacy, at the family and at the policy level, can be a useful tool to access crucial community and social supports that enhance child and family outcomes.