Special Services Use Among Latino Families with Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD): Does Nativity or Language Matter?

Background/Purpose: Special services, such as speech and occupational therapies, play a critical role in meeting the developmental needs of children with IDD. Many studies have indicated that nativity is a critical factor that influences the service use of Latino families; however, many of them have not focused enough on the importance of language barriers. Several studies focusing on the Latino population have noted that language proficiency greatly impacts service use (e.g., mental/medical care). This is especially problematic as the Spanish-speaking Latino population has increased by 15.1 million from 2000 to 2022. Nonetheless, while many of the studies have highlighted the association among nativity, household languages, and service use for the general population, to these researchers’ knowledge, there is little to no literature that has focused on Immigrant Spanish-speaking families with children with IDD and special services. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap using nationally representative data to examine the association between nativity, household languages and special services use among Latino families with children with IDD.

Methods: Data came from the 2021 and 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). We identified children with IDD by whether they ever have Autism, developmental disability, intellectual disability, or Down syndrome. 1,389 children with IDD were identified. Special services use is measured by a dichotomous variable indicating whether the child has used the services or not. Household language is measured by another dichotomous variable indicating whether the child speaks English or Spanish at home. nativity is measured by an ordinal variable indicating whether the family is a first, second, or third or more generation household. Descriptive, bivariate, and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association. All the analyses counted for survey weights and the complex sample design.

Results: After controlling sociodemographic variables, we first examined the relationship between nativity and special service use without including household languages. The logistic model revealed that 2^nd and 3^rd or more generations are more likely to use special services (OR = 3.03, p-value = 0.038, and OR = 2.91, p-value = 0.048, respectively). After including household languages into the model, we found that Spanish-speaking families have lower odds of using special services than English-Speaking families (OR = 0.46, p-value = 0.02), and the effect of nativity on special services use became insignificant. This highlights the critical impact of language on accessing special services among Latino families with children with IDD.

Implications: The study underscores the necessity for tailored interventions to overcome language barriers in accessing special services for Latino families with children with IDD. It advocates for the development and provision of culturally competent and language-adapted services to ensure fair and inclusive access for these families.