About

The purpose of the University of New Mexico's Project MESA (Multilingual, culturally responsive Early childhood Social communication Approaches) is to increase the number of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) prepared to use evidence-based approaches with young culturally or linguistically diverse children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other developmental disabilities or delays. 

MESA scholars will receive training and experiences surrounding evidenced-based approaches for (a) social communication assessment and interventions with a focus on naturalistic and family-centered approaches; (b) culturally responsive/sustaining and multilingual assessment and intervention practices; and (c) collaborating in teams. 

To meet the needs of New Mexico (NM), the project will recruit multilingual students who have knowledge of languages commonly used in the state and Southwest (e.g., Spanish and Diné), as well as monolingual students committed to working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations. 

All students will have an equal opportunity to participate, but the team will make specific efforts to recruit students who come from groups that, while traditionally underrepresented within the SLP profession, have proportionately higher representation amongst young children receiving SLP services in NM. These include, for example, Hispanic/ Latinx or Native American individuals. We will also consider experiences that have been excluded from the SLP field to include additional underrepresented groups (e.g., neurodiverse, first-generation, or gender-diverse students).