Early Identification and Connection to Services Among Urban Parents Who Have Low Income and Low-Literacy Skills

Young children from parents with low income and low-literacy skills are often late in being diagnosed with developmental disabilities. To try to understand this phenomenon, we conducted six focus groups with 17 parents of low income with low-literacy skills living in an urban area who had children between 6 months and 4 years of age. Parents were asked how they access general information about child development and parenting resources. They were also probed about their experiences learning about their specific children’s development. Their feedback was also sought on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Learn the Signs Act Early materials. Results highlighted the resourcefulness of the parents to find information and the difficulties they had with printed information. Their focus group responses indicate the need for agencies to think more broadly about where to provide information for parents and the need to utilize easy-to-read printed materials.