The missing voices of Indigenous Australians with autism in research

We would like to bring to the attention of those who read Autism the limited amount of literature on Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). In this letter, we summarise the results of our search on Pubmed and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed literature on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians with ASDs. We then explain why more research should be conducted on Indigenous Australians with ASDs.

On 18 December 2015, Google Scholar and Pubmed were searched for peer-reviewed literature about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians with ASDs. The following search terms were used: ‘indigenous’ OR ‘aboriginal’ AND ‘autism’. Using these search engines yielded two publications (Roy and Balaratnasingam, 2010; Wilson and Watson, 2011). The first article found, published by Roy and Balaratnasingam (2010), presented the results of a psychiatrist assessing 14 indigenous patients with schizophrenia from the Kimberley region of Western Australia for autism. Roy and Balaratnasingam’s (2010) article found that out of the 14 selected patients, 13 were considered to have autism. Roy and Balaratnasingam (2010) concluded that ASDs may be under-diagnosed within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. The second article found, published by Wilson and Watson (2011), explained the limited amount of literature about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with ASDs. It also encouraged service providers and indigenous families to screen indigenous children for ASDs and if eligible to access community services to support improved developmental outcomes.

In comparison to non-Indigenous Australians, Indigenous Australians have higher rates of depression, anxiety, psychosocial risk factors (psychological distress, food insecurity and financial stress) and lifestyle risk factors (smoking, obesity and inadequate fruit intake) (Markwick et al., 2014). Given the prevalence of ASDs in the Australian population, it is plausible to assume that there are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with ASDs. However, as illustrated in this letter, there is only a scant amount of literature on this subject. There are two possible reasons why not much research has been conducted on Indigenous Australians with ASDs. First, within the Australian medical community, there might be a cultural bias whereby medical professionals believe that autism is exclusively a non-indigenous condition. As a consequence, such professionals might be reluctant to diagnose autism in Indigenous Australians. Second, Indigenous Australians may be apprehensive about approaching medical professionals about their family member’s autism. Irrespective of these possible reasons, there are potential challenges that researchers face when studying Indigenous Australians on the autism spectrum. First, Indigenous Australians who care for family members on the autism spectrum might be reluctant to give researchers the opportunity to examine their family member’s autism. Second, some Indigenous Australians live in remote communities. Due to their residential location, researchers might find it difficult to provide regular and reliable autism diagnostic and support services.

In the interests of furthering our understanding of ASDs, as well as improving the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, researchers should devote more resources and attention to studying Indigenous Australians with ASDs.