An analysis of Disability Rights Engagement and Empowerment among Latino recent immigrant parents of children with disabilities

Little is known about variables impacting empowerment of recent immigrant families of children with developmental disabilities (CWDs). No paradigm explains influences on immigrant parents of CWDs perceptions of disability rights or social capital formation. I hypothesize this population has historical, social, cultural, and educational contexts that influence the extent to which they are empowered to seek meaningful outcomes from social service and educational systems in the U.S. This project will create a new tool for measuring theoretically derived constructs that explain the variability in the extent to which Latino immigrant parents seek and advocate for services for their CWDs. I will develop the instrument, pilot the items with small focus groups totaling a sample of 50 in order to conduct a psychometric analysis, and will winnow the items through analysis of inter-item correlation and exploratory factor analysis. I will field the instrument again to collect data from a different sample of 100 parents in order to conduct a CFA for the key constructs. Participants will be recruited from Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, California. They will be surveyed on Cultural Frame of Reference, Family or Psychological Empowerment, and Disability Rights Engagement and Social Capital Formation. There are currently no measures to address Cultural Frame of Reference and the Disability Rights Engagement and Social Capital Formation for this group. The creation of this survey will enhance the ability of professionals to better understand and serve Latino children with disabilities and their immigrant parents.