Maria Montenegro, Caregiver Skills Training Master Trainer

Maria Montenegro is a master trainer at the University of Texas' Rio Grande Valley caregiver skills training program. The Rio Grande Valley site is the first Spanish-speaking caregiver skills training (CST) program in the United States.

In this interview, Maria speaks to the impact that their work is having on families who often face barriers to access care for their children with autism.

English transcription and translation of testimonial will be available on this page soon.

University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley

This year, the University of Texas launched the first Spanish-speaking caregiver skills training (CST) program in the United States. This culturally adapted version of CST was launched in the Rio Grande Valley in order to serve the autistic Spanish-speaking community who currently experience a lack of readily available services.

The Rio Grande Valley sits along the Mexican border with a 91% Latino population. Unfortunately, most autistic residents and their families in this area face many issues when accessing services. Among those challenges is a lack of services and resources in Spanish for those Latino parents who do not speak English.