How Black families face delays in getting autism diagnoses

A small, new study underscores how African-American families with autistic children have a difficult time getting a timely diagnosis. Research has shown that Black autistic kids, on average, get diagnosed later than their white peers. Data from nearly 600 Black families with an autistic child revealed that these families first raised the topic with a health provider three years prior to getting a formal diagnosis. Parents also reported having to visit multiple providers before getting a diagnosis, and that a lack of providers in their area contributed to the delay. Most children in the sample were diagnosed when they were older than 4 years of age, which is also after several early interventions for autism can be implemented. Although the findings are correlational, the authors of a related editorial write that "the confluence of findings are suggestive of structural racism leading to inequity."