Pathways to an Autism Diagnosis: Insights from Parents of Females

Due to a myriad of systemic barriers, individuals who are female, Black, Hispanic, or otherwise racially minoritized often experience delays in receiving an autism diagnosis. Timely autism diagnosis supports quality of life, treatment outcomes, and self-identity. In contrast, delayed diagnosis can have far-reaching consequences, particularly for marginalized groups. The current study examines pathways to autism diagnosis and explores how diagnostic milestones vary by demographic factors, including sex, race, and ethnicity. Hypothesized differences in age of diagnosis and time to final diagnosis across demographic groups were not observed. However, a greater number of diagnoses prior to final autism diagnosis was associated with longer diagnostic delays. Additionally, families of females and non-white children reported more dismissiveness from providers than their white, male counterparts. These findings suggest that diagnostic efficacy cannot be captured simply by age of diagnosis; instead, lived experience must be considered to contextualize disparities and improve equitable diagnostic processes.