One-fourth of children under age 8 with autism spectrum disorder — most of them black or Hispanic — are not being diagnosed, which is critical for improving quality of life.
One-fourth of children under age 8 with autism spectrum disorder — most of them black or Hispanic — are not being diagnosed, which is critical for improving quality of life.
The findings, published in the journal Autism Research, show that despite growing awareness about autism, it is still under-diagnosed, particularly in black and Hispanic people, said study co-author Walter Zahorodny, an associate professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and director of the New Jersey Autism Study, which contributed to the research.
Researchers analyzed the education and medical records of 266,000 children who were 8 years old in 2014, seeking to determine how many of those who showed symptoms of the disorder were not clinically diagnosed or receiving services.
Of the nearly 4,500 children identified, 25 percent were not diagnosed. Most were black or Hispanic males with deficits in mental abilities, social skills and activities of daily living who were not considered disabled.
Read more at Rutgers University
Image: Walter Zahorodny is an associate professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and director of the New Jersey Autism Study, which contributed to the research. (Credit: Nick Romanenko/Rutgers University)
