Mexican American mothers' beliefs about disabilities - Implications for early childhood intervention

The concept of family-centered, culturally responsive practices in early ch ildhood intervention is based on principles of respect for and acceptance o f each family's ethnicity, culture, language, and worldviews. Parental beli efs and expectations about children's development tend to reflect cultural perspectives of their community and may differ from those espoused by profe ssionals who serve them. In contrast to deficit-oriented interpretations of ten attributed by professionals to such disparities, sociocultural theory o ffers a framework for understanding beliefs in their cultural context. Usin g examples from a study of Mexican American mothers' beliefs about their ch ildren with language disabilities, this article interprets the mothers' vie ws about language and disability from a sociocultural perspective and discu sses implications for early childhood intervention.