An Analysis of Leadership Development among Immigrant Latino Parents of Children with Disabilities

This study investigated leadership development among immigrant Latino parents of children with disabilities. Nineteen members of grassroots organizations in the Chicago area participated in the study. Naturalistic inquiry was used as the research approach that included a combination of inductive and deductive analysis. The inductive analysis revealed that parents' conceptualization of community leadership was about doing things for each other and also served as a means to address unmet needs. The deductive analysis showed that connections with other parents, balancing personal and community interests, being an immigrant, and empowerment were the elements most frequently identified as key to their leadership development. The findings highlight the need among Latino parents of children with disabilities to be more informed about the culturally appropriate services, how to access these services, and strategies for navigating service systems for immigrants who do not speak English. The findings expand scientific knowledge about community leadership in its application to a new population in that personal, communal, ideological, and spiritual connections between people are the essence of the leadership process among ordinary citizens. Personality, formal training, and management skills are not the only skills necessary for community leadership development, particularly with disadvantaged groups. (Contains 54 references.) (Author/JDM)