This report provides a theoretical framework for understanding different approaches to interaction intervention and uses this framework as background for considering how various cultural factors might influence families’ (and providers’) views of these approaches. Most research in interaction intervention has been conducted without explicit attention to cultural diversity in the samples. Current knowledge is based largely on Caucasian samples of western European derivation, particularly from the United States. Developmental studies often have confounded diversity in culture with other sources of diversity, such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and educational level. Differences between groups that may represent different cultural origins have often been interpreted as deficits in the non-Caucasian samples. Another interpretation of these differences is that culture may influence families’ perceptions of many aspects of interaction intervention including the need for intervention, characteristics of good interactions, appropriateness of interaction as a focus for intervention, and acceptable approaches to providing intervention. Different approaches used in parent-infant interaction intervention between parents and their birth to 3-year-old children with disabilities are described, along with implications for working with individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The report includes extensive references, an annotated bibliography, and a list of available resources from the CLAS Web site.
