I am a Ph.D. graduate student at Alliant International University. I am in the process of gathering data for my research study. I am attempting to understand the obstacles parents face when seeking services for their children diagnosed with autism. I am attempting to figure out which barriers parents currently face by Mexican-American and Caucasian families. The most prominent barriers are geographic location, immigration status, which has been linked to language, limited knowledge/awareness of ASD, anti-immigration laws and cultural beliefs. Ideally, I would like to publish my results to encourage agencies to modify the services offered to families, specifically, ethnic minorities.

I am reaching out to you to help advertise my study to encourage parents to participate. The Alliant International University Institutional Review Board has approved my study. I am looking for Mexican American and Caucasian parents who have a child diagnosed within the Autism Spectrum between the ages of 3 and 17, who live in California. Parents, who are would like to participate, they will complete a 15-minute questionnaire online and enter for a chance to win one of three prizes, $50 Fandango card, $50 Amazon card or $50 Visa card. By participating in my research study, they will help us understand parent’s experience-seeking resources for their children. I have flyers and a brief explanation, in Spanish and English, of the study. I ask you to distribute them and courage parents to participate in my study. Here is the link ofr the English questionnaire https://alliant.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0rHNKaZGhNhCXAx. Spanish questionnaire , https://alliant.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_etD6QQMW1CvGPVr.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at 619-356-1438.

Thank you,

Elizabeth Sanchez Arvizu