The authors present a brief introduction to Americans of Arab descent and a brief overview of Arab culture. Then, culturally appropriate counseling considerations related to family, attitudes toward disability, religion, communication, acculturation, help-seeking behaviors, and stereotypes are highlighted. In the last section, the authors provide conclusions and recommendations for culturally appropriate considerations in working with Arab Americans with disabilities and their families.Los autores presentan una breve introducción sobre los americanos de origen árabe y un breve resumen de la cultura árabe. Después, se destacan consideraciones para la consejería culturalmente apropiada relacionadas con la familia, actitudes sobre discapacidad, religión, comunicación, aculturación, comportamientos de búsqueda de ayuda, y estereotipos. En la última sección, los autores proporcionan conclusiones y recomendaciones para consideraciones culturalmente apropiadas a la hora de trabajar con americanos de origen árabe con discapacidades y sus familias.

Arab American children with disabilities have been largely neglected in literature pertaining to racial and ethnic minorities in special education in the United States. Few policy makers, human service practitioners, and researchers in this country are likely aware of the tens of thousands of Arab American children with disabilities. This paper offers guidelines for addressing the unique needs of Arab American children with disabilities. These guidelines address: awareness of Arab culture, outreach programs for Arab American families having children with disabilities, assessment of Arab American children, Arab American parent involvement in their children's education, Arab American children's English language proficiency, overrepresentation of Arab American children in special education, and conducting further empirical research on Arab American children with disabilities. The paper also provides preliminary evidence to support further exploration of the numbers, characteristics, and experiences of Arab American children with disabilities. The issues and discussions in this paper are of particular relevance as special education and related service providers in the United States continue to explore more culturally appropriate interventions and supports for minority children with disabilities and their families.

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We examined the sustained effects of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) on 66 children with autism spectrum disorder who participated in the Future Center’s EIBI program. Children were assessed using the childhood autism rating scale (CARS), autism behavior checklist (ABC), and adaptive behavior scale (ABS-Arabic) 3 years after leaving the program. Continued positive effects were observed in several areas, including adaptive behavior and autism symptoms. However, participants’ social skills might have declined on the ABS-Arabic after service withdrawal. Additionally, a significant negative association (p < .001) was found between participants’ performance on the CARS and the number of weekly trials. This is encouraging, given the lack of EIBI services and regional instability. Future research should increase the sample size and use a more rigorous design.