When a baby is born she comes in the world without a sense of self-esteem. As the child begins to develop, the messages the child hears throughout their life will often determine how that child views them self. Tell a child they are unable to do something and the child will believe it.

In the Latino culture many mothers are very protective of their children. Often a child who is disabled is raised to depend on family members. The mother makes the decisions for her disabled child even when the child is an adult. Recently at a college event an adult Latina disabled student was accompanied by her mother. When the mother approached the information table for the Harlem Independent Living Center (HILC), the student stood behind her mother. When the worker asked the student if she was registered to vote, the mother immediately jumped defensively in front of her daughter and told the worker "they" were not interested in the services. The student lowered her head and followed her mother away from the table even though she seemed interested in information about voting.

In the Puerto Rican culture this is unofficially called the 'bendito' syndrome. It means people feel sorry for the person with the disability and believe if they do everything for that person they are helping the person. This sort of dependency can affect a person's self-esteem. A person who is never allowed to do for herself will never know what they are capable of accomplishing.

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