Autism in minorities is underdiagnosed

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ASPartOfMe
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20 Mar 2018, 2:23 am

Black And Latino Children Are Often Overlooked When It Comes To Autism

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ASD is a disease that affects people of all races and ethnicities, but research shows that African-American and Latino children with autism are diagnosed at older ages than white children, giving them less of an opportunity for proper intervention and treatment.

This is especially true of minimally verbal kids like Sherry's son and there are many possible reasons for a late diagnosis. Some families face healthcare access issues and prohibitive costs for treatment, and some families just don't know how important it is to get diagnosed to move on to the treatment phase. The dialog between doctors and minority families during the diagnosis process is critical.

A recent study from Georgia State University found that African-American parents reported fewer concerns about behaviors like delayed speech and repetitive behaviors, even though their children showed a greater severity with these symptoms, overall. But, of course, it isn't all up to parents.

"There are very likely parent aspects of this and very likely clinician aspects of this," says Meghan Rose Donohue, a lead researcher on the study. Perhaps families, like Sherry's, don't have the information necessary to really push physicians, but it is also possible that doctors don't take these cases seriously enough from the beginning.

Families and doctors, alike, can mistake ASD for simple bad behavior, especially in boys, as research has shown over the past couple of decades. A 2001 study at McGill University in Montreal found that doctors were more hesitant to diagnose ASD in minority families.

In 2007, a study by a team at the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania, found that African-American children were 5.1 times more likely to be misdiagnosed with conduct disorders before being diagnosed with ASD.

One of the apparent biases among intake counselors at the center stems from the difference in the documentation that arrives with each new child. African-American families tend to arrive at the center with lots of documentation detailing behavior issues from their child's school or social services. With all those official papers sitting in front of them, it's much easier for a counselor to think "behavior disease" rather than "autism," says Kelly.

And that disparity exists in dollars spent, as well. As reported in a 2017 survey, South Central Regional Center spends $8,000 less per client than th

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lostonearth35
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21 Mar 2018, 10:38 am

It's underdiagnosed in in girls and women, so I'm not surprised. It's like Caucasian American males get a cold, the rest of us get pneumonia.

AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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21 Mar 2018, 12:50 pm

Quote:

https://psmag.com/news/autisms-race-problem

Getting an autism diagnosis for any child can be a slog, with multiple appointments with a variety of specialists. An average of two years passes, regardless of race, between the time parents first recognize issues with their child and when the child receives an autism diagnosis. For minority children, however, that time tends to be significantly longer, although time to diagnosis has decreased across the board, according to Constantino.

So it's hard for all parents to get a diagnosis, although significantly worse for minority parents and children.

And the good news is, the situation is (slowly!) improving.

Last edited by AardvarkGoodSwimmer on 21 Mar 2018, 1:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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21 Mar 2018, 12:57 pm

and I really don't like the claim in the first article that African-American parents are on average somehow less capable.

Like so many things in life, I think the within-group variance is probably much bigger than the between-groups average. That we can find engaged, with-in, coach-ful, teach-ful, or merely good enough parents across a wide range of social background, ethnic background, income level, etc, etc.

Last edited by AardvarkGoodSwimmer on 21 Mar 2018, 1:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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21 Mar 2018, 1:15 pm

And I take what's probably a minority view in that I think a diagnosis should not be the end-all and be-all.

But that instead, kids with learning differences, sensory issues, etc, should receive some extra help all along the way. That if in some final analysis whether a person is flatly spectrum or merely spectrum-friendly as it were, should probably not make all that much difference. For example, that schools should continue to branch out so that one size fits all is not so much the way we do things.

bethannny
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21 Mar 2018, 4:45 pm

This is not necessarily true. If their autism is severe or with classic symptoms they will absolutely be diagnosed. I am not from the U.S but I have watched documentaries about the supposed rising levels of Autism in children and a diverse range of of kids from different backgrounds were featured with mostly non-verbal Autism. There were several black and hispanic children.

Now this may be true when it comes to the other range of the spectrum.

AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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21 Mar 2018, 8:32 pm

and most kids on the autism spectrum are going to have less immediately obvious symptoms. For example, most kids on the spectrum can talk.

Doesn't mean they'll fit in well at school and be treated respectfully as valued students.

==================

And in the corporate world later on in adulthood, well, it can be accepting, or it can exclude people for seemingly very small reasons.

Chummy
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23 Mar 2018, 11:22 pm

It's the same deal here in Israel actually.

I don't think it's overlooked. The cultural difference blurs diagnosis, which anyway is based on criteria set by society. So that causes the women ratio etc, it's not people having or not having it, it's "having it" being completely subjective.

how many people of isolated tribes in Africa or the Amazonas have autism? I bet right down to 0. Cause no western culture present.

CockneyRebel
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24 Mar 2018, 12:00 am

Let's hope those things are improved before the ends of our current life times.

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AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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06 Apr 2018, 12:15 pm

Chummy wrote:

. . . how many people of isolated tribes in Africa or the Amazonas have autism? I bet right down to 0. Cause no western culture present.

If we define autism spectrum as sensory issues, patchy social skills, intense interests, etc, then I bet some members of remote tribes are on the spectrum.

It's similar to ADHD before schools were common. In a social set-up where "staying in your seat" is considered the highest value, yeah, we're going to diagnose more of it. But in many walks of life, ADHD can actually be an advantage.

On the sensory front for someone in a tribe . . . well, being by yourself at night is going to be harder without having an apartment, and the jungle might not be safe at night. Maybe a lot of alone time during the day if you so choose? And there are going to be less electronic buzzes and hums, less chemical smells from cleaners and paints, etc. Maybe more of the sounds tend to be meaningful sounds?

The Unleasher
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06 Apr 2018, 1:07 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Black And Latino Children Are Often Overlooked When It Comes To Autism

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How does culture affect this? I know, for example, some blacks have to deal with "acting too white". People with family from Central America tend to be big into religion and community, so Latino Aspies may feel even more isolated with everyone trying to get them to be more social.

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Daniel89
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06 Apr 2018, 1:10 pm

Could it not be linked to income? With blacks and Latinos having a lower income?

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