Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Disabilities in Children From Immigrant Families in the United States

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Recent census data show that nearly one-quarter of US children have at least 1 immigrant parent; moreover, there has been a dramatic increase in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and select developmental disabilities (DDs). However, little is known about access to medical home and adequacy of insurance coverage for children with ASDs and select DDs from immigrant families.METHODS: By using the 2007 National Survey of Children' s Health, we compared children with ASDs and select DDs from immigrant (n = 413, foreign born or reside with at least 1 immigrant parent) and nonimmigrant (n = 5411) families on various measures of medical home and insurance coverage. We used weighted logistic regression to examine the association between immigrant family and selected outcome measures while controlling for confounding factors. RESULTS:Compared with nonimmigrant families, children with ASD and select DD from immigrant families were more than twice as likely to lack usual source of care and report physicians not spending enough time with family. Furthermore, multivariable analyses indicate that insurance coverage is an important factor in mitigating health care barriers for immigrant families. CONCLUSIONS:The study demonstrates important areas of deficits in the health care experiences of children with ASD and select DD from immigrant households. Public policy implications include increasing access to existing insurance programs, augmenting public awareness resources for ASD and select DD, and offering assistance to immigrant families that are struggling with the medical needs of their children.

Priority service needs and receipt across the lifespan for individuals with autism spectrum disorder

“…First, the survey was based on caregiver report of ASD, without clinical validation and data are limited by parents' knowledge and recollection, which could impact the validity of the results as reflecting the true priority needs of those with ASD. While not the gold standard in ascertainment, several large scale family caregiver surveys have used caregiver report of official diagnosis and other variables [Kogan et al, ; Lin, Yu, & Harwood, ; Totsika et al, ; Shattuck, Narendorf et al, ] and a verification study showed reliability of diagnosis by caregivers [Daniels et al, ]. Second, our data was collected by convenience sampling using primarily online methods, which may have created barriers to participation for some families.…”

Community participation of youth with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder

“…a particular genetic syndrome). Similar processes have been used to ascertain developmental disability in past parent report surveys of youth and young adults with ASD and ID (Daniels et al 2011;Kogan et al 2008Kogan et al , 2009Lin et al 2012;Totsika et al 2011;Weiss & Burnham Riosa 2015).…”

Disparities in Healthcare Access and Utilization among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder from Immigrant Non-English Primary Language Households in the United States

“…[7,8] The barriers to health care access are further exacerbated for children with ASD from immigrant families with limited English proficiency (LEP). [9] Parental LEP has been associated with risks of adverse outcomes in children’s health and disparities in medical and oral health, access to care, and use of services with challenges in understanding clinical evaluation results, prescription instructions, follow-up appointments, referral to specialist and therapy-related documents. [10-12]…”