Home Environments and Perceived Needs of Anglo and Latino Families of Young Children with Visual Impairments

Abstract

This study examined the influence of home environment, socioeconomic status, and visual functioning on mothers’ perceptions of the family needs and development of 19 toddlers with visual impairments from Latino and Anglo backgrounds. Differences were found between the mothers’ perceived needs based on ethnicity and their children's degree of vision loss.

Lessons learned from Hispanic mothers in the United States: Recommendations for personnel preparation and research in visual impairment

“…Several of the themes that emerged in this study parallel those found in other studies including the key importance of considering how language, communication, and other logistics can create barriers between families and professionals and the desire of families to receive information about their child (Dote-Kwan, Chen, & Hughes, 2009;Milian, 1999Milian, , 2001. In addition to these themes, an interesting pattern of responses was observed.…”

“…Ratings by families in these areas were partially linked with the age of the child, language spoken by the families, and number of years in the United States (Milian, 2001). In addition, Dote-Kwan, Chen, and Hughes (2009), investigated the perceived needs of Latino mothers and fathers compared to Anglo parents of young children with visual impairments. In this study, Latino mothers were found to want more information about their child’s condition and more assistance with financial matters than Anglo mothers.…”

Parental Satisfaction with the Quality of Care in an Early Intervention Service for Children with Visual Impairment: A Retrospective Longitudinal Study

“…Despite the great number of articles on early intervention in literature, there are still relatively few recent contributions regarding early intervention programs in infants with visual impairment, as reported in recent reviews, aimed at evaluating their effectiveness [28,29]. The parents' satisfaction on the quality of the care received in early intervention is even less studied [3,26,30,31]; although different settings and populations were studied, the quality of the family's support played an important role in all studies.…”

An Introduction to Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy for Students With Sensory Disabilities

“…It is important for practitioners to learn the strengths of diverse families rather than focus solely on their perceived needs (Harry & Ocasio-Stoutenberg, 2020). As Dote-Kwan et al (2009) emphasized in their study of early intervention strategies with blind children, educators should develop strategies that "fit with parents' priorities, values, and routines" and do not reinforce stereotypes of CLD families (p. 540). Educators can also support CLD parents by valuing the knowledge and experience base that shapes their advocacy needs and co-creating responses that address these needs (Harry & Ocasio-Stautenberg, 2020).…”