Hispanic children with autism need special attention
Hispanic children with autism are more likely to experience language and motor skill regression compared to non-Hispanic white children with the condition. According to new…
Hispanic children and autism. (Shutterstock)
Hispanic children with autism are more likely to experience language and motor skill regression compared to non-Hispanic white children with the condition.
According to new research presented Tuesday, May 6, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, many children with autism early in their childhood appear to be developing normally; they make the traditional noises and go through the normal activities that signify they are developing along pediatrician guidelines. Then, for unknown reasons, some children with autism start to lose those skills they had been learning throughout infancy.
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“Lost skills are very difficult to recover, said lead author Adiaha I. A. Spinks-Franklin, MD, MPH, FAAP, assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, as reported by RedOrbit. Evidence suggests that African-American and Hispanic children are often diagnosed with autism at later ages than white children and have less access to services. Our research shows there is one more important factor that contributes to the developmental outcomes of African-American and Hispanic children with autism.
Hispanic children and autism. (Shutterstock)
That additional factor is a predisposition based on race/ethnicity that puts Hispanic children at an immediately higher risk for motor skill and language regression compared to other children.
Spinks-Franklin’s team, after evaluating preschool children enrolled in the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network database between March 2008 and December 2001, found that Hispanic children were1.5 times more likely to experience developmental regression compared to non-Hispanic white children.
African-American children with autism fared even worse, having two times the risk compared to non-Hispanic whites.
The disparity remained evident even after researchers took into account the education level of the caretakers for Hispanic children with autism and the child’s access to health care coverage to maintain treatment.
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Starting back in 2012 through 2014, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released statistics showing that autism diagnosis rates among Hispanic children had increased by 110 percent since the last time the data was collected. At the time, experts indicated the growth was likely to due to an increase in awareness regarding autism as well as better access to health care facilities.
Overall, however, Hispanic children remain less likely to be diagnosed with autism compared to non-Hispanic whites according to the CDC.
