University of Otago, New Zealand.
Pasifika Autism Support Group, New Zealand.
Autism. 2024 Jul;28(7):1667-1676. doi: 10.1177/13623613231217800. Epub 2023 Dec 28.
Previous studies of autism in Aotearoa, New Zealand, suggest that fewer Pacific children receive an autism diagnosis compared to European children. This study aimed to explore if formal education qualification of parents is related to receiving an autism diagnosis for their Pacific child. Our findings show that autism was identified in 1.1% of Pacific children compared with 1.6% among non-Māori, non-Pacific children. Parents with higher levels of education were more likely to receive an autism diagnosis for their Pacific child. While the study findings indicate education plays a positive role in receiving a diagnosis for autistic children, they suggest a systemic failure of supporting Pacific parents and communities to navigate the health and education systems that exist in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
先前在新西兰奥特亚罗瓦进行的自闭症研究表明，与欧洲儿童相比，接受自闭症诊断的太平洋岛裔儿童较少。本研究旨在探讨父母的正规教育程度是否与他们的太平洋岛裔孩子接受自闭症诊断有关。我们的研究结果表明，1.1%的太平洋岛裔儿童被确诊为自闭症，而非毛利族、非太平洋岛裔儿童的这一比例为 1.6%。教育程度较高的父母更有可能为其太平洋岛裔孩子获得自闭症诊断。虽然研究结果表明教育在为自闭症儿童获得诊断方面发挥了积极作用，但它们也表明，在新西兰奥特亚罗瓦，支持太平洋岛裔父母和社区了解并适应现有的卫生和教育系统方面存在系统性失败。
