"Minority" Children Are Underrepresented in Autism Identification

During a conversation with my speech and language advisor today, she stated that I was lucky to have gotten my little Spectrum child involved with intervention services so early. I had to pause for that one, because the child in question is three years old, and the older son also began being assessed at three years. Back then (>10 years ago) I did attempt to get my little boy involved a year earlier, but a policy was in place for all children which allowed assessment only after 36 months. Not knowing that some policies had changed, I waited until this past summer to have the younger son assessed.



I'm glad my boys received services no matter when they got started. I'm great at seeking the resources I need and working to have them implemented for my children's benefit - for all of them whether they have special needs or not. However, I can't deny that I saw signs and symptoms of developmental issues very early. I only waited because I thought I had no choice.

At any rate, surfing the web for therapy programs, of course I would find the following report that discusses the specific disparities that affect my and other Black children. It's a heady read, but it is very informative. If you're reading this and you have a smaller child who is causing some concern, don't wait.The earlier the child starts receiving services, the better he or she will do with academic and social skills later on.

Black, Hispanic kids underrepresented in autism identification