In The Politics of Autism, I write about the experiences of different economic, ethnic and racial groups.
From the article:
This study, which is the first to examine inequity in age of treatment receipt among a nationally representative sample of children with ASD, demonstrates inequitable access to treatment. Specifically, we detected relationships between age of treatment receipt and two predisposing social characteristics, or race-ethnicity and perceived neighborhood cohesion. It is concerning that compared to White children, the odds of entering treatment at 3 years and ⩾4 years were much greater for non-Hispanic Black children. This finding aligns with consistent evidence that Black children with ASD are diagnosed later and are initially misdiagnosed (Daniels and Mandell, 2013).
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After controlling for child race-ethnicity and covariates, children whose parents perceived their neighborhood to be cohesive began treatment earlier than children whose parents did not. Byrnes and Miller (2012) reported that the positive relationship between perceived neighborhood cohesion and effective parenting behaviors is mediated through social support. Thus, parents who perceive neighborhood cohesion might perceive greater social support from and more frequently communicate with neighbors and more often interact with other parents and young children. In turn, these parents might be more likely to compare and discuss their child’s development, including available community resources that promote development. To the contrary, parents who do not perceive neighborhood cohesion might not receive feedback about their child’s development until preschool or later.
