Special education services are crucial for enhancing outcomes and well-being among autistic students. Unfortunately, many racially and ethnically minoritized and girl autistic youth face challenges in timely and accurate identification. National-level data reveal autism prevalence rates differ across student gender, race, and ethnicity hindering access to services and appropriate education. As research focusing on autism disproportionality in schools is limited, we investigate autism identification disparities specific to racially and ethnically minoritized and girl students at the national and state levels in schools. State-level data from the 2019–2020 academic year were obtained from the United States Department of Education and analyzed to assess prevalence rate, relative risk, and systemic-level predictors of autism identification disparities. Girls were under-identified with autism in schools compared to their boy peers. The disproportionality risk of racially and ethnically minoritized students compared to White students had decreased in reference to prior reports, with the least improvement for Latine students. School locale proved significant in predicting the risk of autism identification for girl and Latine students. These findings can inform policy change, raise the collective consciousness, and encourage practitioners to seek out continued education regarding autism identification and girl students to reduce or eliminate these disparities.
Lay abstract
Special education services are important for helping autistic students succeed, but many racially and ethnically minoritized and girl students face difficulties in getting support because they are not identified appropriately in schools. This study looks at the identification of autism in racially and ethnically minoritized and girl students across schools in the United States during the 2019–2020 school year. We found that girls are less likely to be identified compared to boys, which means they might not get the help they need. The gap between racially and ethnically minoritized students and White students in autism identification has improved slightly, but Latinx students still face challenges. We also found that where students live (their locale) affects their chances of being identified, especially for girls and Latinx students. These findings show that there are disparities in school autism identification, and understanding them can help policymakers, educators, and communities make changes to ensure all autistic students get the support they need.
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