Beyond translation: Underserved families seeking asylum share what cultural recommendations are needed when participating in intervention
Background: Many countries are seeing rapid demographic changes, with increasing cultural and linguistic diversity. It is imperative that children’s early intervention services adapt to reflect the cultural needs of their changing communities.
Aim: To understand the perspectives and experiences of caregivers from a multicultural, underserved asylum seeker community in an Australian city, when attending a caregiver-implemented communication intervention. Specifically, to consider: (a) whether surface adaptations; and (b) deep adaptations, were recommended by multicultural underserved families when participating in Western-informed programs for their children with a language delay.
Method/approach: Ethical approval was provided by Charles Sturt University (Protocol number: H23718). This study explored an intervention designed for caregivers concerned about their toddler’s language learning called It Takes Two To Talk®. It was delivered through an Australian asylum seeker service. Four multicultural families enrolled, and three completed the intervention. Using phenomenological methodology, descriptive family and child data were combined with qualitative data from field notes, interviews, and a focus group. Deductive thematic analysis was guided by the Cultural Adaptation Checklist (CAC).
Results/findings: All children presented with significant language delay and showed clinically meaningful lexical growth. The CAC captured surface adaptations that (a) maintain cultural practices, and (b) address contextual constraints. Deep adaptations addressed aligning intervention to caregivers’ values and beliefs through targeting (a) providing additional content needed, (b) expanding existing content for cultural consideration, and (c) addressing contextual constraints to reach additional communities.
Conclusion: Culturally responsive caregiver-implemented intervention with underserved multicultural families requires surface and deep adaptations.
Implications for children and families: You are central for decisions and implementation of communication supports for your child. Through your voice, intervention needs to engage you and align to reflect your family’s values and beliefs.
Implications for practitioners: You will consider opportunities to deliver flexible interventions guided by the voices of caregivers.
Funding: This work was funded by a grant to the Charles Sturt University Rural Health Research Institute from the Commonwealth of Australia represented by the Department of Health (Grant Activity 4-DGEJZ1O/4-CW7UT14) and a Charles Sturt University Australian Government Research Training Program (AGRTP) Scholarship.
Keywords: surface structure adaptation, deep structure adaptation, families seeking asylum, speech-language pathology
This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
- SDG 4: Quality Education
- SDG 10: Reduced Inequality
- SDG 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goals