Do Cultural Adaptations Matter? Comparing Caregiver Training in Different Language for Latino Caregivers of Autistic Children: A Telehealth-Based Evaluation

Vargas Londono et al. (2024) asked: does teaching caregivers in Spanish help more than English? They used telehealth BST with Latino parents of autistic kids. Half the sessions were in English, half in Spanish, switching back and forth.

Parents learned the skills faster when BST was in Spanish. They also rated the Spanish sessions as more helpful and stayed more engaged. The positive finding held across all families.

McGuire et al. (2025) extends this idea. They trained bilingual grad students in English, then had the students coach Latino caregivers in Spanish using NDBI. Skills still soared, showing the language boost travels across different teaching styles.

Maliki et al. (2025) conceptually replicate the Spanish result in the UAE. Arabic-speaking facilitators learned parent-training skills better when BST was delivered in Arabic, not English.

Neely et al. (2020) is an earlier classroom cousin. They adapted BST for Latinx teachers by adding cultural examples and Spanish prompts. The new caregiver study moves the same logic from school to home and from in-person to Zoom.

If you run parent training via telehealth, ask what language the caregiver dreams in. Offer BST in that language from session one. You will see quicker mastery, happier families, and fewer no-shows. No extra cost—just switch tongues.