School-based assessment of autism spectrum disorder among culturally and linguistically diverse children.

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the fastest growing neurodevelopmental disorder in the United States. Despite dramatic demographic changes in the United States, disparities in ASD diagnosis and educational identification persist, particularly among select culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) groups and economically vulnerable populations. Limited research has been conducted regarding school-based ASD assessment practices, particularly with CLD populations. As school psychologists are an integral part of the ASD assessment process for educational identification, more research is needed to identify their current practices and experiences when conducting ASD evaluations in the school setting with CLD students. This mixed-methods study investigated the self-reported experiences of school psychologists when conducting ASD evaluations with CLD students. School psychologists (N ϭ 148) in the United States were surveyed to identify their experiences and perceived barriers and facilitators to ASD identification with CLD populations. There were many perceived barriers that school psychologists endorsed regarding implementing culturally and linguistically responsive ASD assessment. Implications for practice and training are provided. Public Significance StatementDespite the dramatic rise in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prevalence in recent decades, children from certain racial/ethnic groups and those from low socioeconomic status are more likely to received delayed ASD identification or misidentification. This study found that school psychologists face multiple perceived barriers when conducting ASD school-based assessment and the improvement of these barriers could impact more accurate and earlier identification of ASD in all populations.

Práticas de Avaliação Psicológica Escolar: Uma Revisão Sistemática da Literatura

“…Na categoria 2, (15% dos estudos) avaliação de minorias e grupos culturalmente diversos, inclui-se a identificação de práticas mais comuns de psicólogos e conselheiros escolares na avaliação de estudantes culturalmente e linguisticamente diversos (CALD), ou com dificuldades acadêmicas (Velasco & Campbell, 2020) (Quadro 2). Adicionalmente, estudos analisaram práticas de avaliação para determinar elegibilidade para educação especial de aprendizes da língua inglesa (Harris et al, 2015) (Quadro 3), e o estudo da confiança percebida por psicólogos escolares na avaliação do espectro autista em alunos CALD (Harris et al, 2019) (Quadro 2). Houve contribuições para a compreensão do que poderia reduzir o viés racial/étnico na aplicação de medidas disciplinares excludentes (Sprague, 2018) (Quadro 3) ou para avaliação de ameaças estudantis em grupos étnicos diversos (Cornell et al, 2018) (Quadro 2).…”

“…Ademais, persistem dificuldades de refinamento de propriedades psicométricas e de estabelecimento de normas para diferentes tipos de populações, bem como o elevado custo de instrumentos estrangeiros (Gilmore et al, 2015). Os demais estudos, referentes a minorias e grupos culturalmente diversos, incluíram o relato de contribuições que poderiam reduzir o viés racial/étnico na aplicação de medidas disciplinares nas escolas (Sprague, 2018), avaliações do espectro autista em alunos CALD (Harris et al, 2019;Velasco & Campbell, 2020) et al, 2015), e avaliações para elegibilidade à educação especial (Harris et al, 2015). Nos anos da década de 1970, era comum a preocupação com o impacto negativo, para a criança, do rótulo da necessidade de receber educação especial, o que levava, conforme palavras de Steege & Watson (2009), a uma "busca desesperada por um diagnóstico" de suas deficiências.…”

The assessment needs of families with children who are deaf and hard of hearing referred for an autism spectrum disorder evaluation

“…Furthermore, research suggests school psychologists hesitate from establishing a solid home‐school collaboration when there is a need for an interpreter to communicate with parents (Harris et al, ). Specifically, school psychologists in this study reported difficulty obtaining important diagnostic symptomology through an interview when an interpreter was needed, and they relied more on assessment data obtained from rating scales.…”

School‐based ADHD services: Perspectives from racially and ethnically minoritized students

“…All data were collected online via Qualtrics (2020). Such methods have previously been used in published qualitative studies (e.g., Fogarty & Ramjan, 2016;Harris et al, 2019). Qualtrics Panels recruited participants in April 2020.…”