Accounting for Cultural Differences to Make Parent Training More Socially Significant

The engagement of parents in applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment has been shown to contribute to intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD; McConachie & Diggle, 2007). Parent engagement depends greatly on the effectiveness of the therapist’s communication with the family regarding therapy goals and desired outcomes. Communication is likely to be facilitated if the therapist interacts in ways consistent with the family’s history, culture, values, and socio-political orientation (Bernal & Flores-Ortiz, 1982). Therefore, making sure the programs selected by the therapist align with the parents’ values and culture could potentially be of great benefit for the success of interventions. This chapter will have a predominant focus on parent training with Latin American families.