Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) is characterised by impairments in communication and socialisation, alongside repetitive and stereotyped behaviours (Association Psychiatric Association, 2013). Differences in risk of ASC are associated with socioeconomic disparities, whereby ASC tends to be overrepresented in high socioeconomic status (SES) families.
Early clinical (Cox et al., 1975; Finnegan et al., 1979; Hoshino et al., 1982; McCarthy et al., 1979) and population-based studies (Bhasin & Schendel, 2007; Durkin et al. 2010; Lotter, 1967; Treffert, 1970; Williams et al., 2008) have reported positive associations between ASC and SES, measured by parental education, occupation or income. However, other studies (Cialdella & Mamelle, 1989; Croen …show more content…
Neighbourhoods provide different access to health services (Matteson et al., 1998) and restricted access to these facilities significantly decreases the likelihood of diagnosis. Evidence shows that high SES children with developmental and behavioural delays come under surveillance earlier than low SES children (Croen et al., 2002) due to greater service availability and financial resources. Further evidence of ascertainment bias is shown, as increases in ASC diagnoses of low SES children were associated with increases in the availability of diagnostic services (Medi-Cal) offered to low SES children (King & Bearman, 2011). SES variability may also reflect disparities in the use of material resources; whereby low SES families are less efficient at using available services. Poor individuals tend to engage in behaviours that perpetuate their poverty (Bertrand et al., 2004), whereby minor situational barriers will discourage low SES families from exploiting available resources. Since navigating the service system is characteristically hard (Barbaresi et al., 2005), situational factors such as travelling long distances and difficult diagnostic processes will dissuade low SES families from using ASC services. Supporting evidence (Schloper et al., 1979) indicates that high SES families reported an earlier onset of symptoms, travelled greater distances and provided more …show more content…
Not only are lower-class parents less educated regarding ASC, the experience of poverty directly impedes their cognitive functioning (Mani et al., 2013). Preoccupations with financial concerns leave fewer cognitive resources available to subsequently engage with their social environment. In both experimental and naturalistic designs, Mani et al. (2013) found that evoking financial concerns, endemic to lower-class families, causes significant diminished cognitive performance. Therefore suggesting that lower class parents have less cognitive resources available to recognize developmental and behavioural abnormalities, indicative of ASC. Similarly, low SES parents report lower levels of concern than high SES parents (Sun et al., 2014). Children whose parents expressed strong parental concern were significantly more likely to have an ASC diagnosis than those whose parents expressed no concerns. Thus, a lack in cognitive resources, manifest in a lack of parental concern, may impact a parent’s sensitivity towards autistic behaviours. Moreover, being poor creates a narrowing focus on the present at the neglect of the future (Shah et al., 2012). Although ASC children pose considerable behavioural challenges for their families on a daily basis, high-functioning autistic children in lower social classes
Early clinical (Cox et al., 1975; Finnegan et al., 1979; Hoshino et al., 1982; McCarthy et al., 1979) and population-based studies (Bhasin & Schendel, 2007; Durkin et al. 2010; Lotter, 1967; Treffert, 1970; Williams et al., 2008) have reported positive associations between ASC and SES, measured by parental education, occupation or income. However, other studies (Cialdella & Mamelle, 1989; Croen …show more content…
Neighbourhoods provide different access to health services (Matteson et al., 1998) and restricted access to these facilities significantly decreases the likelihood of diagnosis. Evidence shows that high SES children with developmental and behavioural delays come under surveillance earlier than low SES children (Croen et al., 2002) due to greater service availability and financial resources. Further evidence of ascertainment bias is shown, as increases in ASC diagnoses of low SES children were associated with increases in the availability of diagnostic services (Medi-Cal) offered to low SES children (King & Bearman, 2011). SES variability may also reflect disparities in the use of material resources; whereby low SES families are less efficient at using available services. Poor individuals tend to engage in behaviours that perpetuate their poverty (Bertrand et al., 2004), whereby minor situational barriers will discourage low SES families from exploiting available resources. Since navigating the service system is characteristically hard (Barbaresi et al., 2005), situational factors such as travelling long distances and difficult diagnostic processes will dissuade low SES families from using ASC services. Supporting evidence (Schloper et al., 1979) indicates that high SES families reported an earlier onset of symptoms, travelled greater distances and provided more …show more content…
Not only are lower-class parents less educated regarding ASC, the experience of poverty directly impedes their cognitive functioning (Mani et al., 2013). Preoccupations with financial concerns leave fewer cognitive resources available to subsequently engage with their social environment. In both experimental and naturalistic designs, Mani et al. (2013) found that evoking financial concerns, endemic to lower-class families, causes significant diminished cognitive performance. Therefore suggesting that lower class parents have less cognitive resources available to recognize developmental and behavioural abnormalities, indicative of ASC. Similarly, low SES parents report lower levels of concern than high SES parents (Sun et al., 2014). Children whose parents expressed strong parental concern were significantly more likely to have an ASC diagnosis than those whose parents expressed no concerns. Thus, a lack in cognitive resources, manifest in a lack of parental concern, may impact a parent’s sensitivity towards autistic behaviours. Moreover, being poor creates a narrowing focus on the present at the neglect of the future (Shah et al., 2012). Although ASC children pose considerable behavioural challenges for their families on a daily basis, high-functioning autistic children in lower social classes