Although poor health has been reported in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), most studies excluded fathers and focused on mental health. We combined 2016-2019 data from the National Surveys of Children's Health to determine child and parent characteristics that predict poor mental and physical health in fathers (n = 818) and…

Prenatal cannabis use and maternal stress have been proposed as risk factors for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Black mothers and mothers of lower socioeconomic status (SES) may be especially likely to experience high levels of stress. This study examined the impact of prenatal cannabis use and maternal stress (i.e., prenatal distress, racial…

Children with complex behavioral profiles (e.g., ASD + ADHD) may experience delays in obtaining a final diagnosis. Low-resource or underrepresented groups may be at even greater risk for delayed diagnosis. We assessed the effect of sociodemographic factors, symptom complexity and co-occurring conditions, and identifier of first symptoms on…

Research suggests that bullying victimization occurs at higher rates among students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than among their typically-developing peers. This study used data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 to explore differences in student and family characteristics between students with ASD and students with all…

Health disparities in ASD detection affect children's access to subsequent interventions. We examined potential disparities in implementation of a multi-stage ASD screening and diagnostic evaluation protocol in Part C Early Intervention with 4943 children ages 14-36 months (mean 22.0 months; 62.9% boys, 73.3% children of color, 34.9%…

Health coverage of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is rapidly expanding across the United States. Yet we know little about the time-lag between diagnosis and treatment onset. We integrated administrative, Medicaid claims, and Census data for children in an EIBI Medicaid waiver (n =…

We analyzed predictors of parent-reported initial diagnosis (autistic disorder [AD], pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified [PDD-NOS], pervasive developmental disorder ["PDD"] and autism spectrum disorder ["ASD"], and Asperger syndrome [AS]), among 6,176 individuals with autism spectrum disorders diagnosed from 1994 through 2007.…