Race and Class Are Barriers to Service for Children with Autism
Tuesday May 22, 2007
It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has or works with a child with autism. It probably shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has dealt with the American health or educational systems. But a new article in the LA Times makes it crystal clear: wealthy white families are far more likely to receive top quality services for their children with autism than are families who are non-white, non-wealthy, or non-English speaking. According to the article:
Poor and minority kids with parents who don't know how or whom to pressure get fewer services — and get them later — than middle-class and wealthy kids with assertive parents. African American and Latino children with autism are one to two years older than white children before they're diagnosed.While there is no simple way to narrow the service gap, there are resources available to all families regardless of race or wealth. Among these are parent support organizations, legal websites and advocacy groups, and local state and federal entitlement programs.In Los Angeles, it took white kids an average of four visits to specialists over four months to be diagnosed with autism; black children required 13 such visits over 10 months, according to 2005 legislative testimony of Robert Hendren, executive director of the UC Davis MIND Institute.
In coming weeks, I plan to collect a "top ten" list of free and low-cost services available to families coping with autism. Which organizations, websites or agencies would you put on the list?
Comments
Where does this put me? Hummm?
I am a working white female making 10 dollars an hour?
What about rich African American families?
What about Assertive and smart African American families?
What about Assertive poor White families?
What about rich divorced mixed couples?
What about rich white families who are passive?
Who gets the best services? Well as the mother of an autistic child, I can say it is the one child with the parents that love and care. I think the rich get the best of everything because they are rich, no matter what color they may be.
No one cares about the poor or working poor. Ever see those shows about autism. Nobody and I mean nobody interviews a poor family. It is always the same “poor rich people whose lives were ruined”. I love my child and he is the best ever!
I am not trying to be mean here, just realistic. Status, money and good looks always get you the “best” no matter who you are or what color you are. It is about the economic divide–you know, “Social Class”!!!!
I think this applies to most anything in the medical field. When you are poor or don’t have insurance, you are put in the “back” rooms at the hospital where the staff can ignore you and only treat those “paying” patients.
Hospital administrators will claim they provide the same care for all patients, but they fall into the same category with the politicians who make broken promises. Being diagnosed with Autism falls into this same category. On the flip side, if you are considered “rich” the doctors can experiment on your child with the newest drugs so they get fat cash from the pharmaceutical companies. Some work, some don’t.
It’s definitely sad when people are not seen as the people they are, but only classified in social groups based upon their race, religion, color, monetary value, and social status. As long as the rich keep getting richer and the poor stay poor, the world will be tilted until it falls upside-down. I suppose those of us considered the poor and working poor are expendible to the rich. Curious, could they survive without their money and monetary items? Do they love their children just as much as we do, or do they pay someone to do it for them?
As a middle class white I was not so sure about discrimination (at least in the northeast), until I dealt with the schools on the special education for autism.
the school people are genuine progressive liberals, but i notice their airs of “educational arrogance” are worse when dealing with minorities. I’m guessing, but I think unconsciously they have lower expectations of minority parents (even if not poor). They are consistently offered fewer services than us white/english speaking folks (in the same economic circumstances).
why shouldn’t rich and middleclass get better care. They are the ones furnishing all the money. Get real
A website for the Latino Community. I look forward to reading your list of free/low cost services. This is an issue that is rarely addressed. The stressors of dealing with autism compounded by low income and language barriers to much needed. Healthcare should be provided to ALL. We all put our money into the encomony no matter what our race/income level. Thank You
kwren is a good representative of what is wrong with humanity….it’s all about money, right kwren…loser