Black and Hispanic autistic children tend to have more pronounced symptoms than white children.
The loss of "language, motor or social skills" is more prevalent in these racial groups, an American Academy of Pediatrics news release reported. This effect is known as "developmental regression."
To make their findings the researchers looked at data on 1,353 preschool children with autism enrolled in one of the 17 Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network locations in the Unites States and Canada.
The data showed that 27 percent of the children experienced developmental regression as reported by their parents. Black children were found to be twice as likely to have "parent-reported regression" when compared with white children, Hispanic children were about 1.5 times more likely. The disparity remained even when factors such as insurance status and parent education level were taken into account.
"Lost skills are very difficult to recover," lead author Adiaha I. A. Spinks-Franklin, MD, MPH, FAAP, assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and associate director of the Developmental-Behavioral Pediatric Fellowship at Texas Children's Hospital, said in the news release. "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."
The researchers believe pediatric providers should be aware of the racial disparity in autism because early intervention is necessary in these cases.
"We want parents to know that if they have any concerns about behavior or development patterns in their children - whether the concern is a loss of skills or some other type of concern - their child should be evaluated by a physician as soon as possible," study co-author Jennifer B. Swanson, MD, FAAP, first-year developmental-behavioral pediatric fellow at Baylor College of Medicine said in the news release.
