Disparities in Supports for Autism in Latino Families

Earn 1 hour of continuing education by joining OT Potential after taking this course.

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Racial and ethnic health disparities have been heavy on our hearts over the past few years—and they should be.

We have much to reckon with, not only in terms of our own personal biases, but also regarding the structural inequities within healthcare.

In this one-hour, podcast-based CE course, we’ll look at how the Latino community is impacted by disparities around the diagnosis and care of autistic children. We’ll start by exploring some of the latest research on the topic with Catherine R. Hoyt, PhD, OTD, OTR/L and Cristina Reyes Smith, OTD, OTR/L. Then, we’ll discuss practical implications for caring for our autistic clients, including how we can work step-by-step to dismantle the disparities in our healthcare systems.

This course is designed to meet the OT ethics CEU requirements for Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee.

Supplemental Materials

• Updated guidance on reporting race and ethnicity from JAMA
• National CLAS Standards
• Health Equity Framework
• COTAD: Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity

Primary Research Explored

When you log in, be sure to check out the OT Potential Club’s written breakdown of the following research article, then share your questions and thoughts with fellow practitioners.

• Disparities in diagnosis and treatment of autism in latino and non-latino white families

Secondary Research

• Current landscape of teaching diversity in occupational therapy education: A scoping review
• Estimation and comparison of current and FUTURE RACIAL/ETHNIC representation in the US health Care Workforce

Learning Objectives

• You will be able to identify barriers to autism supports that disproportionately impact Latino families.
• You will be able to recognize how unmet needs for autistic patients vary by ethnicity and English proficiency.

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Breakdown and analysis of journal article (10 minutes)

• An introduction to racial disparities in autism care
• Why was this paper written?
• What methods did the authors use?
• What were the results?
• Authors’ conclusion and recommendations
• Takeaways for OT practitioners

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with guests Cristina Smith & Catherine Hoyt) (45 minutes)

• What were your initial impressions of the article? 
• Do you have examples of racial and ethnic healthcare disparities in the OT world, based on your own practice?
• What can we be doing, as occupational therapy professionals, to support early diagnosis of autism for our Latino clients?
• What are some strategies individuals can use to root out their own biases that might contribute to health disparities? 
• What are the most important steps our clinics/departments should be taking to address racial and ethnic health disparities? 
• What are the most important steps our profession should be collectively taking to address health disparities? 

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about racial and ethnic health disparities as they relate to evidence based rehabilitation. The educational level is introductory. 

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic. Our guests, Cristina Reyes Smith and Catherine Hoyt, have no financial interest in this topic to disclose.

Speakers

Cristina Reyes Smith, OTD, OTR/L:

Dr. Cristina Reyes Smith is a graduate of the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program at Thomas Jefferson University and the Masters in Occupational Therapy program at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She has over 15 years of experience in community health promotion, program development, and volunteer service to underserved communities. She currently works as an Assistant Professor and Director of Admissions in the MUSC College of Health Professions (CHP) Division of Occupational Therapy.  She has served as Faculty Advisor for the CHP Student Diversity Leadership Council and CHP Aprendiendo Juntos interprofessional Spanish club. 

Dr. Smith was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the American Occupational Therapy Association beginning in July 2020.  She was also recently invited to serve on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Occupational Therapy Education and officially began this role April 2020.  She has conducted presentations and published articles about workforce diversity; cultural competence and sensitivity; and related topics for local, state, and national venues.  She has also integrated these concepts on campus through presentations, interprofessional course electives, and student research groups.  She coordinates the annual MUSC Culturally Sensitive Care Program open to all MUSC students, faculty, and staff since the Fall of 2018 about the USDHHS National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards.  She also coordinates the annual MUSC Septima P. Clark Poetry Contest for Lowcountry children and youth in honor of the Charleston native and civil rights activist. Read full bio.

Catherine R. Hoyt, PhD, OTD, OTR/L:

Dr. Hoyt (she/her/hers) is the Founding Director and a founding member of COTAD (2014). She focuses on developing strategies to identify effective methods of diversity education and strategic growth of COTAD initiatives to support COTAD’s mission. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation and Participation Science in 2019, after having earned her OTD in 2010 from Washington University School of Medicine.

Dr. Hoyt was part of the 2012 cohort of the AOTA Emerging Leaders program and has served on several volunteer committees to support pediatric practice and future visioning for AOTA. In addition to her growing body of work in research related to early identification and intervention for developmental delay, Dr. Hoyt is also a dedicated clinician and entrepreneur. She has a patent on a pencil grip and several products on the market for pediatric therapy. She is the owner of My Little Sunshine Pediatric Therapy in St. Louis, MO, and serves on the advisory board for Southpaw Enterprises, WearWorks Inc. and STEGA. Read full bio.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L:

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

We are proud to be an AOTA Approved Provider and to meet the requirements for your NBCOT renewal.

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