Dr. Wilkenfeld's proposal is to research disparities between racial/ethnic groups in autism diagnoses, then to implement and evaluate a plan aimed at alleviating those disparities. The current working hypotheses are that:
- The stigma associated with an autism diagnosis might discourage some people from getting one, particularly among minority groups where there is a real risk of intersectional discrimination; and
- The process of getting through screening and diagnostic testing is sufficiently opaque that additional education or facilitation might help improve diagnoses (particularly for older children).
These suggest that we might be able to make a difference by producing educational materials and media. There’s still some work to be done in assessing whether those are the correct approaches, but we hope to be able to make some difference.