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Families play a critical role in supporting their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and in advocating for their health and educational needs. However, many families around the world experience social, emotional, and financial difficulties, as well as challenges navigating various systems in search for the services and supports their children require. Colombia has made some recent strides in supporting the needs of families of children with ASD, but there is still concern among families that their children are not receiving adequate services. Thus, we were interested in learning more about what it was like to parent a child with ASD in Colombia. In particular, we focused on investigating the families' perceptions, experiences, and aspirations for their child with ASD by conducting focus group interviews. Four primary themes emerged from these interviews with Colombian parents, which included the impact of the disability diagnosis on the family, the systemic and societal challenges they faced, the strengths they saw in their child, and their future aspirations and expectations for their child. Implications for developing culturally responsive parent education programs are discussed.

Knowledge and identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasing in Latin America, yet there are limited resources available to help families of children with ASD. For this study, researchers adapted and tested a parent educational program created for Latino immigrant parents of children with ASD in the United States to the needs of parents of children with ASD in Colombia. Parents were randomized into two intervention delivery modes, one led by parents and the other by students. All measures were self-reported by parents (n = 20). Parents improved in understanding their child's strengths and needs and frequency of using evidence-based strategies. Parents in the student-led group reported significantly lower depressive symptoms between baseline and follow-up. In focus groups, parents expressed satisfaction with the intervention and described ways they were using the information. This study demonstrated promising results to improve the experience of parents of children with ASD in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]