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Latin american mother playing with her small dark skinned hispanic daughter outdoor, in summer time. Bright blurred background.

Hispanic & Latino Autism Project

Program Contact

Lady Rios-Vega OTD, OTR/L, CASI
  • Co-Principal Investigator
  • Research Associate, Jefferson Autism Center of Excellence
  • Adjunct Faculty, Department of Occupational Therapy

Testing Design Thinking Methodology to Engage Hispanic & Latino Families of Autistic Children

Principal Investigators: Roseann Schaaf, PhD; Lady Rios-Vega, OTD
Co-Investigators: J. Matthew Fields, MD: Kristin Rising, MD

Sponsored by: Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)

English/Spanish Website Translation (PDF)

Project Purpose

Improve access to evidence-based occupational therapy interventions for the Hispanic and Latino communities. 

We want to know about the experiences with access to and use of therapy services to culturally adapt the autism intervention Ayres Sensory Integration® and improve its effectiveness for the Hispanic and Latino autistic community.

We are also testing two participation strategies, Design Thinking and Focus Groups, to learn which is better for engaging the Hispanic and Latino community in research. 

Hispanic-Latino Project Overview - English

Background & Need

  • Hispanic and Latino families with autistic children experience delays in accessing and using therapy services in comparison to white children.
  • Delays in access and use of therapy services can result in lower quality of life, more caregiver stress, burden, and higher medical costs.
  • Therapy interventions that are not culturally adapted can result in less participation, may not be used, and are less effective.  
  • The Hispanic and Latino community is under-represented in autism research.
  • Hispanic/Latinos are the largest minority group in the US and one of the fastest growing groups being diagnosed with autism. 

Goals of the Study

Learn about the challenges and facilitators experienced by families of autistic children to access and use therapy services.

Part One: Compare two different ways or methods to engage or involve research participants, Design Thinking (DT) and Focus Groups (FG), and evaluate how effective they are in engaging Hispanic/Latino families in the research process.

  • Design Thinking: A group discussion about experiences with problem-solving activities.
  • Focus Group: A group discussion with a moderator asking questions about experiences.

Part Two: Culturally adapt the Ayres Sensory Integration® (OT-ASI) occupational therapy intervention to improve its accessibility and usability for Hispanic and Latinos. 

What is Ayres Sensory Integration® (OT-ASI)?

Ayres Sensory Integration® is an evidence-based occupational therapy intervention designed to address the sensory challenges that affect up to 97% of autistic individuals and often interfere with independent participation in in daily life activities. ASI is based on developmental science, neuroscience and occupational science.  Research shows that OT-ASI can improve independence is daily life activities such as self-care and socialization. 

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