The study investigated the beliefs of 16 Latina mothers of a child with a developmental disability. Interviews and a written questionnaire were used to explore experiences and the model of disability to which the mothers' ascribed. Additionally, the study investigated use of and satisfaction with disability related services. A disability questionnaire was created initially based on Rhoda Olkin's "Assessing the Client's Model of Disability" questionnaire (1999) and as adapted for a survey format by Diana Wong (2007).

Quantitative findings showed that overall the mothers ascribed most heavily, and nearly equally, to the medical and social models of disability. Individually, each of the mothers in this study was found to ascribe the least to a moral model of disability. Qualitative findings were placed into nine categories: (a) The diagnosis/disability—the diagnostic experience was reported as a long, lonely and frustrating experience and included negative interactions with doctors; (b) The mother's understanding of the diagnosis/disability—explanatory style was found to correspond to model score patterns, with differences found in the mothers' level of comfort using diagnostic terms and labels; (c) Relationships and support—conflicts in families of origin were reported when there was a difference of disability related perspective, and was especially prevalent for mothers who were foreign born; (d) Challenges associated with the disability—challenges were found to be similar to many parents of children with disabilities; (e) Positive aspects of the disability—positive aspects included improved sense of personhood, life or purpose; (f) Religious and spiritual beliefs—half of the mothers found religious or spiritual beliefs helpful or guiding in terms of their child with a disability; (g) Service use—all of the mothers in this study were utilizing services for their child's disability; (h) Service satisfaction/Perception of services—an ethnic match between the mother and the provider was not found to be important in influencing perception. Of more importance to the mothers was the relationship they perceived with the provider and between the provider and the child, as well as the provider's disability training.

The mothers in this study were unique in many ways, including the facts that many had strong connections to the disability community and all were bilingual. There are a multitude of factors which influence the meaning of a developmental disability which includes a person's working model of disability. Important cultural beliefs contribute to these underlying belief systems, which in turn affect attitudes and behaviors. Further exploration of the application of disability models to individual and clinical settings is needed. Implications for clinical work, training, policy and future research are discussed.