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Patterns of Special Education Eligibility and Age of First Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Identification Among US Children with ASD

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Abstract

The study examined timing of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) identification in education versus health settings for 8-year-old children with ASD identified through records-based surveillance. The study also examined type of ASD symptoms noted within special education evaluations. Results indicated that children with records from only education sources had a median time to identification of ASD over a year later than children with records from health sources. Black children were more likely than White children to have records from only education sources. Restricted and repetitive behaviors were less frequently documented in educational evaluations resulting in developmental delay eligibility compared to specific ASD eligibility among children with ASD. Future research could explore strategies reduce age of identification in educational settings and increase equitable access to health evaluations.

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Funding

The preparation of this report was supported by funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 5 NU53DD000007-03-00.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, 606 24th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA

    Amy N. Esler

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Jeannette Sample & Jenny Poynter

  3. Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, 150 Pillsbury Dr SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Jennifer Hall-Lande

  4. School of Education and Human Development, Department of Pediatrics (Developmental Pediatrics), University of Colorado Denver, 1380 Lawrence St. #1114, Denver, CO, 80204, USA

    Bryn Harris

  5. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA

    Catherine Rice & Lisa Wiggins

  6. College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd, MDC56, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA

    Russell S. Kirby

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and analysis were performed by ANE, JS, and JP. The first draft of the manuscript was written by ANE and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Amy N. Esler.

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Amy N. Esler, Jeannette Sample, Jennifer Hall-Lande, Bryn Harris, Catherine Rice, Jenny Poynter, Russell Kirby, Lisa Wiggins declares that they have no conflict of interest.

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Esler, A.N., Sample, J., Hall-Lande, J. et al. Patterns of Special Education Eligibility and Age of First Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Identification Among US Children with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 53, 1739–1754 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05475-5

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