Latino Responsive Program

A growing community of care—built by and for Latino families.

St. David’s Latino Responsive program was created in 2025 in partnership with Latino families and community leaders across the Twin Cities. Together, we designed a bilingual, culturally responsive preschool day treatment model for families navigating autism and other diagnoses that reflects the values, strengths, and lived experiences of Latino families navigating an autism diagnosis.

This program is grounded in relationships—between children and therapists, families and care teams, and the community that surrounds them. Our interdisciplinary team includes mental health therapists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and paraprofessionals—many of whom are Latino themselves. They bring not only clinical expertise, but also cultural fluency, language access, and deep care for each family’s experience.

Children participate in small-group sessions that follow a school-like rhythm. Therapists focus on building social interaction, communication, sensory processing, and self-regulation skills—while also equipping families with tools they can use at home.

The program is housed at our new Nicollet Center and includes two classrooms that adapt to each child’s language strengths—whether Spanish, English, or both. But the heart of the program lies beyond the classroom: through culturally sensitive care coordination and community outreach, we meet families where they are and walk alongside them every step of the way.