In a recent report in one of Texas’s districts renown for its effective approach to supporting students with autism, clear questions on how different racial groups are or are not being identified have been raised. The following extract makes me question how are we doing in BC? What would the comparison be in our districts of Total Student Population of Children with Autism compared to the relative percentage of First Nation or White students within our districts.
The Austin“district has almost double the percentage of students identified as having autism compared with the nation, which, according to Lilly, can be attributed in part to the district’s reputation for having an exceptional program for those students.
And although Austin’s services for students with autism are to be lauded, researchers said, the ethnic distribution of students identified as autistic don’t mimic the demographics of the district overall. About 27 percent of Austin students overall are white, while 58 percent of those identified as autistic are white. Hispanics make up 57 percent of students overall but only 20 percent of the autistic population. About 12 percent of students overall are black; 21 percent of students identified as autistic are black.
“What we’re doing is really beefing up our (identification) efforts, going out doing training culturally and linguistically to make sure that were not missing anyone,” Lilly said. “At the same time, that training also involves not identifying some as in need of services simply because we don’t understand their backgrounds.”
“It really boils down to: Are we identifying the right child for the right reasons? Or is it because … in the case of our overidentification of African American students, that perhaps we don’t have a complete understanding of the cultural differences?” Lilly said.
Hmm
From The Statesman
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