Understanding how Latino caregivers engage with early autism services
Official title: Characterizing Latino Caregiver Engagement in Early Intervention Services for Autism
Funded at California State University Long Beach · NIH-11396374 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how Latino families engage with early intervention services for children with autism to improve access and quality of care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | California State University Long Beach NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Long Beach, United States) |
| Project start | August 7, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $187,772 |
| NIH project number | 5R16GM154679-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11396374 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are Latino families with young children (under age 3 to early school years) who are navigating early intervention services for ASD.
✕Less likely to help
Families not engaged with or accessing early intervention services may see less direct benefit.
What this research studies
Families of young children with autism often face barriers to getting timely and high-quality services. The project will explore caregiver attitudes and behaviors, such as attendance and in-session engagement, that influence how well early interventions are used. By studying these engagement patterns in Latino families, the team aims to identify ways to support more responsive and effective service delivery. The findings could inform policy and practice to reduce disparities and improve outcomes for children with ASD. The study is grounded in real-world service settings and uses input directly from caregivers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to more accessible and higher-quality early services for Latino children with ASD and their families.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work has shown that caregiver engagement affects service use, but this project focuses on service quality and Latino families, which is less explored.
Where this research is happening
-
California State University Long Beach
Long Beach, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Caplan, Barbara J — California State University Long Beach
- Study coordinator: Caplan, Barbara J
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Autism Caregiver Coaching in Africa for Young Children
A Duke University-led project in South Africa aims to help young children with autism by training caregivers to deliver proven coaching strategies through non-specialist providers.
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Autism Caregiver Coaching in Africa
A Duke University-led project helps parents and non-specialist workers in South Africa use caregiver-supported autism strategies to help young children with autism.
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Caregiver coaching in South Africa to support young autistic children
This project trains local early-childhood workers to coach caregivers so they can help autistic children (around 0–11 years) build communication, behavior, and daily-living skills.
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Understanding how caregivers perceive infant cries to identify early signs of autism
This study is looking at how parents and caregivers understand and react to their babies' cries to see if certain sounds might help spot early signs of autism, with the goal of improving support for children who may be at risk.
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Helping Latino caregivers get the most from early autism services
This project works with Latino families of very young children with autism to strengthen caregiver involvement and improve the quality of early intervention services.
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Caregiver coaching for young autistic children in South Africa
This project trains local early childhood workers to coach families so young autistic children in South Africa get practical, culturally adapted support at home.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.