Feasibility, Acceptability, and Clinical Utility of the EHCI Diagnostic Odyssey Interview for Spanish-speaking Latinx families of children with autism spectrum disorder Open Access

Abstract

Journeys towards an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis can be longer and more complex for families of marginalized backgrounds, like Spanish-speaking Latinx families. Long journeys, or delays to diagnosis are consequential and risk sub-optimal outcomes in children with ASD who experience them. For Latinx families, disparities in access to ASD diagnostic services, a required eligibility criterion for ASD-specific intervention services in many US states, have been well-documented. However, these journeys have not yet been studied systematically. Here, we use a mixed-methods approach to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical utility of a novel tool --a Diagnostic Odyssey Interview instrument modeled on the Event History Calendar Interview (EHCI) method-- that examines the journeys of Spanish-speaking Latinx parents systematically. Preliminary results indicate that this tool is acceptable to the Spanish-speaking Latinx community and feasible to implement in studies probing stakeholders’ experiences in this domain. Results also open new lines of inquiry on specific factors likely to pose greater risk for longer diagnostic journeys. These include visits to 3 of more providers between the time parents first become concerned about their child’s behavior and when the child is diagnosed, and encountering pediatricians who do not take parental concerns seriously. Together, these findings indicate that the Diagnostic Odyssey EHCI is a robust tool for the study of diagnostic journeys in this population.

Table of Contents

Page 1 - Introduction

Page 6 - Methods

Page 8 - Results

Page 11 - Discussion

Page 20 - Table 1 and Table 2

Page 21 - Figure 1 and Figure 2

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Subfield / Discipline	Clinical Psychology
Degree	M.A.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Clinical Health Sciences, Public Health
Keyword	health inequity mixed methods early diagnosis autism spectrum disorder
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Ami Klin, Emory University
Committee Members	Patricia Brennan, Emory University Katherine Pickard, Emory University Sherryl Goodman, Emory University

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