Explaining Age at Autism Spectrum Diagnosis in Children with Migrant and Non-Migrant Background in Austria

Garcia Primo, Patricia; Weber, Christoph; Posada de la Paz, Manuel; Fellinger, Johannes; Dirmhirn, Anna; Holzinger, Daniel

doi:10.3390/brainsci10070448

Open AccessArticle

Explaining Age at Autism Spectrum Diagnosis in Children with Migrant and Non-Migrant Background in Austria

by

Patricia Garcia Primo

¹

,

Christoph Weber

^1,2

,

Manuel Posada de la Paz

^3,*

,

Johannes Fellinger

^1,4,5,

Anna Dirmhirn

⁴ and

Daniel Holzinger

^1,4,6

¹

Research Institute of Developmental Medicine, Johannes Kepler University, 4020 Linz, Austria

²

Department for Inclusive Education, University of Education Upper Austria, 4020 Linz, Austria

³

Institute of Rare Diseases Research (IIER) & CIBERER, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain

⁴

Institut für Sinnes- und Sprachneurologie, Konventhospital Barmherzige Brüder, 4020 Linz, Austria

⁵

Division of Social Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria

⁶

Institute of Linguistics, Karl-Franzens University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Brain Sci. 2020, 10(7), 448; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10070448

Submission received: 26 May 2020 / Revised: 8 July 2020 / Accepted: 9 July 2020 / Published: 14 July 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Autism Research)

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Abstract

This study explored (i) differences in age at Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis between children with and without a migrant background in the main diagnostic centre for ASD in Upper Austria (ii) factors related to the age at diagnosis and (iii) whether specific factors differed between the two groups. A retrospective chart analysis included all children who received their first diagnosis before the age of 10 years (n = 211) between 2013 and 2018. Children with a migrant background were diagnosed 13 months earlier than those without (r = 0.278, p < 0.001), and had more severe delays in language, more severe autism, no Asperger’s syndrome, lower parental educational level and more frequent referrals by paediatricians. For the total sample, expressive language delay, severity of restricted and repetitive behaviours, higher nonverbal development, and paediatric referrals explained earlier diagnoses. There was a stronger effect of parental education and weaker effect of language impairment on age at ASD diagnosis in children with a migrant background. In conclusion, no delay in diagnosing ASD in children with a migrant background in a country with universal health care and an established system of paediatric developmental surveillance was found. Awareness of ASD, including Asperger’s syndrome, should be raised among families and healthcare professionals.

Keywords: migration; autism; diagnosis; Europe; health system

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MDPI and ACS Style

Garcia Primo, P.; Weber, C.; Posada de la Paz, M.; Fellinger, J.; Dirmhirn, A.; Holzinger, D. Explaining Age at Autism Spectrum Diagnosis in Children with Migrant and Non-Migrant Background in Austria. Brain Sci. 2020, 10, 448. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10070448

AMA Style

Garcia Primo P, Weber C, Posada de la Paz M, Fellinger J, Dirmhirn A, Holzinger D. Explaining Age at Autism Spectrum Diagnosis in Children with Migrant and Non-Migrant Background in Austria. Brain Sciences. 2020; 10(7):448. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10070448

Chicago/Turabian Style

Garcia Primo, Patricia, Christoph Weber, Manuel Posada de la Paz, Johannes Fellinger, Anna Dirmhirn, and Daniel Holzinger. 2020. "Explaining Age at Autism Spectrum Diagnosis in Children with Migrant and Non-Migrant Background in Austria" Brain Sciences 10, no. 7: 448. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10070448

APA Style

Garcia Primo, P., Weber, C., Posada de la Paz, M., Fellinger, J., Dirmhirn, A., & Holzinger, D. (2020). Explaining Age at Autism Spectrum Diagnosis in Children with Migrant and Non-Migrant Background in Austria. Brain Sciences, 10(7), 448. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10070448

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Explaining Age at Autism Spectrum Diagnosis in Children with Migrant and Non-Migrant Background in Austria

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