Autism Diagnosis More Difficult To Make In Hispanic Children Say Pediatricians
Hispanic children are less likely to get diagnosed with autism than other children, according to new research.
Even if they do get the proper diagnosis, medical professionals likely discover the problem years later than their counterparts.
Doctors are reporting in the Aug. 19 issue of Pediatrics that pediatricians who were surveyed cite language or cultural barriers to identifying autism spectrum disorders in Hispanic children as reasons for the gaps in care.
“Latino children are diagnosed with at low rates, and this investigation found several provider-related factors that might explain these disparities,” wrote the researchers, led by Dr. Katherine E. Zuckerman, a pediatrician at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
Autism spectrum disorders are a group of developmental disabilities that can range in severity, that often impair development of social, communication and behavioral skills. An estimated one in 50 U.S. schoolchildren have an autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Previous studies show minority children tend to be diagnosed later with autism 2.5 years later than white children. That’s problematic because experts often state earlier intervention with autism treatments are tied to better outcomes.
Autism Resources For Those Who Speak Spanish
We know there are a good amount of resources available in the U.S. for English speakers, but, of course, Autism is not just limited to those who speak English, so, the resources should not be limited either.
About 36 million people living in the United States use Spanish as their first language. We gathered together;a list of the best Special Needs Resources available in Spanish. Please pass these along to anyone who many benefit from such resources.
Be Sensitive To Sensory And Developmental Needs
People with autism are often sensitive to sensory information . In addition, sometimes developmental delays can accompany autism . This is NOT the case for all people with autism and you can help your loved one by asking thoughtful questions to learn more about their needs.
People often say: I got him this gift I know its technically a little young for him, but I thought that it might be more his level.
Better to say:;Call ahead and ask what the child would like, or, when in doubt: gift card.
Don’t Miss: Is Autism A Behavioral Disorder
Pele Center Helps Spanish
Children with autism face challenges, but Spanish-speaking children with autism face even more challenges.
Research shows that children from Spanish-speaking homes receive autism diagnoses as much as two years later than children from English-speaking homes. Because treatment of autism before age 3 results in the best outcomes, a later diagnosis can severely hamper a childs development.
This is why, for the past seven years, the School of Education and Human Developments Positive Early Learning Experience Center has focused much of its early-intervention work on non-native English speakers with autism.
The intersection of poverty, English as a second language and having a child with autism is generally ignored by the profession, said Phil Strain, PhD, director of PELE. Were proud to be making a difference. We are seeing consistent, often dramatic improvements in childrens behavior and communication. And, thankfully, our families report more normalized home and community activities.
PELE parent clients say:
The program is phenomenal! Thank you so very much for having it available for us parents who desperately need the guidance.;
Focus on Spanish-speakers
In the past year, PELE has provided nearly 3,000 hours of in-home coaching for families of children with autism in the Denver area. Many of those hours have been delivered by its two full-time, bilingual interventionistsnot translators but native Spanish-speakers themselves.
Unique among treatment programs
Bilingual And Monolingual Children With Asd Perform Similarly Across Tasks
Research to date indicates that at worst bilingual exposure in children with ASD has no effect on language development and at best offers advantages on adaptive functioning, social communication, and receptive language . Valicenti-McDermott et al. found that toddlers with ASD and bilingual exposure made increased attempts to communicate through gestures, cooing, and engaging in pretend play compared with their monolingual peers. Similar advantages have been observed in school-aged children, where bilingual children with ASD scored higher than monolingual children with ASD in tests indicative of nonverbal and verbal communication. In addition, as has been reported for bilingual typically developing youngsters, bilingual children with ASD showed advantages on set-shifting tasks in cognitive tests. However, as none of these advantages are consistently reported across the literature, the accepted view is that bilingual exposure in children with ASD has no detrimental effect on the child.
Don’t Miss: Can People With Autism Become Teachers
Oral Test Successfully Screens Latino Toddlers For Autism
by Hannah Furfaro;/;13 May 2017
Topics:
Lost in translation:
Asking parents autism screening questions orally instead of in writing may capture more young Latino children who have the condition. The unpublished results were presented yesterday at the 2017 International Meeting for Autism Research in San Francisco, California.
The Upper Cardozo Health Center in Washington, D.C., serves a large Latino population, which its clinicians have had difficulty screening for autism. In the year before the study, the health center screened less than 10 percent of the Latino toddlers who came in for well-child visits. None were ultimately flagged for autism.
Upper Cardozo officials were aware they were not reaching Latino children, says Bruno Anthony, deputy director of Georgetown Universitys Center for Child and Human Development, who led the study. And they felt like there were lots of things standing in the way, he says.
One problem was that parents often misunderstood the written questions, even when translated into Spanish. And some of the parents couldnt read.
Between 2012 and 2014, trained multilingual interviewers administered the oral M-CHAT to 90 percent of the parents who brought their children to the health center. They screened about 1,400 children for autism, 90 percent of whom are Latino.
The screening flagged 4 percent of the toddlers between the ages of 18 and 30 months for autism. The researchers didnt determine how many eventually received an autism diagnosis.
To Answer The Question About Which Language To Use We Always Say:
- You can use both!
- Use the language you are most comfortable.
- One family member may use Spanish and another could use English.
- Using more than one language in everyday life will NOT confuse your child.
- Professionals should not ask families to give up their primary language.
- Families have a right to advocate for their preference of languages they choose.
- We also know that there are benefits to being bilingual. Research has started to show:
- Children can participate in their home and community cultures. This is especially important for children with ASD who can learn to socialize in both languages.
- Code switching, or using two languages in a sentence, is a natural way for bilingual people to express themselves. Code switching is not a broken way of speaking. People fluent in two languages use code switching. It is a symbol of bicultural identity.
- Individuals may be better at flexible thinking and may be able to switch tasks more easily because they have two languages to draw from.
- More job/career opportunities.
We are passionate about getting this information to all of our bilingual families, not just those who speak Spanish. People all over the world speak two or more languages! We want to encourage all families to make decisions to honor their cultural and language values.
You May Like: What’s The Difference Between Autistic And Autism
Considerations Guidelines And Resources
The following guidelines were used in the development of the glossary:
- For some terms, more than one Spanish translation is provided.
- A slash is used to indicate gender options.
- A dagger is used to designate Spanish translations that are not literal translations nor the only translation available for the English terms. The translations for these terms reflect the context in which the English term is used in education, assessment, and accountability.
- Italics are used for English terms that require italics according to the latest version of the CDE Style Manual.
- Italics are used occasionally in the Spanish translation to indicate terms for which no appropriate Spanish term is available and where the English term is used in the Spanish translation.
- When an English term is known by an acronym or initialism, the Spanish translation is also followed by the acronym.
The following resources or references were consulted in the development and update of this glossary:
Cristians Parents Are Challenging A Regional Government Decision To Pull Their Son Out Of His Familiar Environment On The Basis It Will Be Too Traumatic For Him
The pupils at the Nelson Mandela primary school in La Carlota, a town of 14,000 inhabitants in the province of Córdoba, went back to school last Monday all except for Cristian, a six-year-old boy who was diagnosed with autism at the age of two-and-a-half.
Cristian stayed home to avoid his world being turned upside down as tests to assess the evolution of his condition concluded that his particular educational requirements cannot be met where he is.
We have been asking for a special classroom in the school for months and they go and install it in another school
Conchi Sierra, Cristians mother
During the summer, the regional government of Andalusia offered Cristian a place in an alternative state school in the same town called Carlos III, which has been equipped to deal with Cristians needs. And last Friday, three days before the term began, the family received a reminder of the change. Cristians parents are, however, fighting the decision as an alteration such as this one, they say, can only be harmful to their sons well-being. They are intending to take the matter to court.
The Nelson Mandela school has no special education classroom. Neither, however, did Carlos III. But, instead of heeding requests to furnish the Nelson Mandela school with the resource, it was installed in the Carlos III school instead.
Being moved from a mainstream classroom to a special education classroom, even within the same center, would alter the childs routine
You May Like: How Do You Know If A Child Has Autism
Best Legal Cbd Oil For Anxiety
Cbd Oil For Bearded Dragon How Do You Say Cbd Vape Oil In Spanish Cbd Oil Vape Where To Buy pharmacyCbd Thc Oil San Diego
How Do You Say Cbd Vape Oil In Spanish Who Does Cbd Oil Work Purity Of Hempworx Cbd Oil Organic Cbd Oil For Ego Aio Vape Cbd Oil For Healthy Person
How Do You Say Cbd Vape Oil In Spanish Cbd Oil Vape Where To Buy Where Can I Buy Cbd Oil In Green Bay Wi Is Koi Cbd Oil Good
Some Practice Activities If You Have A Buddy To Speak Medical Spanish With:
Don’t Miss: Is Winnie The Pooh Autistic
If You Have To Give Immunizations Or Talk About Vaccine Schedules In Spanish This Post Is Perfect For You
This week I had a conversational class with a group of students at the University of Colorado and our topic was talking about vaccines and immunizations in Spanish. It was such a fun and insightful lunch hour that I thought I would turn it into a blog post for everyone!
Ive categorized the vocabulary and common phrases into everyday topics surrounding giving immunizations
Learn The Facts About Autism From Trustworthy Resources
With the influx of information in the news and media about autism, there is a lot of noise and unreliable information. You can help by reading responsible research and presenting these facts, objectively, to your friend or family member affected by autism.
People often say: Its too bad you didnt find out sooner. Ive heard the prognosis isnt as good if they dont catch it early.
Better to say:;Can I help by reading up on the current resources and research? Id be interested in learning more and Im happy to help fill out forms/laminate PECS/help with your laundry.
Also Check: When Did The Term Autism Come About
Parental Interaction Is Critical For Language Development In Asd
Language acquisition in ASD is heavily influenced by parental interaction. However, a parents role would be disrupted if there is nonnative language use with their child. For a caregiver, the level of proficiency in the language directed at their child leads to increased opportunities for parentchild interactions and facilitation of language development in daily life. For example, when parents use a nonnative language to communicate with their typically developing children, they interrupt more often and use shorter utterances. In addition, qualitative studies in ASD report that bilingual parents perceive a greater degree of intimacy, comfort, and competence when using their native language with their child.
It was never a question for us, it is as much his language as English I dont think it has made a difference, and he loves watching the Indian cooking shows and cooking with mom they are very close because of that.
He has no words, but he understands both. I feel bad when I talk Japanese his speech therapist told me only to use English but at home, when it is just him and me, it is strange not to speak my language to my child. I think he responds to me better when I talk to him in Japanese and he understands when his dad and I talk there is a sense of familiarity for him, but still I think, what if I had only used English?
Based On Research With Bilingual Children This Is What We Know:
- Any child has the ability to learn more than one language. In todays world, there are more children who are bilingual than there are children who are monolingual.
- Children with developmental disabilities, like language disorder and ASD, can also learn more than one language.
- Being bilingual does not cause language delay/disorder.
- For bilingual children with ASD, research found no negative results in the way a child learns language.
- Parents who answered surveys about bilingualism usually reported a desire for their children to be bilingual out of necessity for connection to family and community, and recognizing the benefits of bilingualism.
- Parents who value bilingualism expose their children to more languages than those who do not find bilingualism important.
Don’t Miss: What Every Teacher Should Know About Autism
Recieve The News With Respect
As a friend or family member or a loved one with autism, it is normal to want to know more about the diagnosis. It is important to know that questioning the diagnosis is usually more harmful than helpful.
People often say: Maybe its a misdiagnosis Ive heard they are overdiagnosing things these days.
Better to say: Hes lucky to have an observant parent learning about his needs. Thanks for trusting me enough to share this I am here for you.
Lifelong Sociocultural Implications Are Understudied
Assessing outcomes beyond childhood where cultural and societal aspects of bilingualism play a critical role is an important gap in the literature., Studies have found that for bilingual families, maintaining the parental native language as the home language facilitates cross-generational relationships, helps preserve cultural heritage, and supports a cohesive family relationship., As such, by limiting exposure to the parental native language in children with ASD, additional communication barriers could be created. These barriers could result in social and cultural effects when children with ASD are not fully integrated in their community and weakening of child and family relationships due to language barriers.,
You May Like: What Is The Treatment For Autism