Abstract
This study explored caregivers’ perspectives on facilitators and barriers to screening, diagnosis, and identifying and accessing other services for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); and caregivers’ suggestions for improving the process. Eight focus groups with 55 caregivers were conducted. Four groups had a mix of White, African American, and Asian caregivers, and to gain broader populations, we recruited two groups of Spanish-speaking and two groups of American Indian caregivers. Some caregivers reported that their child and they received excellent services; however, the majority reported concerns about the services they and their child received. The findings also indicated a lower age of diagnosis and a smaller gap between concerns and diagnosis for White non-Hispanic children compared with Hispanic non-White children. Caregivers had many suggestions for ways to improve the process.
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