Caregiver-Implemented Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions for linguistically and culturally diverse families with autistic children

Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) are a scientifically validated approach combining principles from behavioral and developmental sciences. They are implemented in natural settings, emphasize shared control, and utilize strategies tailored to a child’s developmental stage. Caregiver-implemented naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (CI-NDBIs) have demonstrated effectiveness for improving social communication skills in autistic children. However, most studies involve English-speaking, primarily white caregivers, highlighting the importance of addressing cultural diversity in these caregiver-led interventions. This synthesis was conducted to systematically examine the research on CI-NDBIs for culturally diverse families. The synthesis includes 12 studies from six countries, highlighting how CI-NDBIs were adapted to meet the needs of culturally diverse families. The articles were evaluated using the Cultural Adaptation Checklist to determine how CI-NDBIs were tailored to address the specific cultural needs of diverse families. The findings emphasize the importance of further research on cultural adaptations to better tailor CI-NDBIs for culturally diverse populations.