Diagnostic Discrepancies: Clinical Versus Educational Identification of Autism in Latino/a Children in Colorado

ABSTRACT Although the prevalence of autism is increasing, children are less likely to be identified with autism in schools compared to clinical settings. Moreover, Latino/a children are less likely to receive an identification of educational autism than non‐Latino/a peers. This research explores the identification of educational classification of autism and other disabilities for Latino/a children with a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Medical records of Latino/a children ages 6−12 who received a clinical diagnosis of autism at a public hospital in a large city in Colorado were reviewed to determine their educational disability identification and English language proficiency. Results indicated that just 15% of Latino/a children with a clinical diagnosis of ASD were also identified with an educational classification of autism in schools, and children from families with limited English proficiency (LEP) were significantly more likely to be identified than their peers. An additional 70% of children were identified with an alternative educational disability other than autism. Implications for policy and practice, particularly in school‐based contexts, and future directions are discussed.