World Children’s Day | Do bilingual children face autism diagnosis delays?

The University of South Wales (USW) has received funding from the British Academy to explore whether children from bilingual or ethnic minority backgrounds face delays in being diagnosed with autism.

Led by Dr Rebecca Ward, Lecturer in Psychology, the project aims to find out if these children are identified as autistic less often or later than other children, and what impact this has on their education and development.

Initial findings from Dr Ward’s previous work indicate that bilingualism does not hinder developmental progress in children with neurodevelopmental conditions. However, it may complicate the diagnostic process due to limited exposure to English or other dominant languages, leading to potential misinterpretations by educators and healthcare providers.

With the funding received, Dr Ward will collaborate with Senior Analysts at Swansea University, who have extensive experience working with the SAIL databank which contains healthcare and education records for up to 80% of people in Wales. The team will look at data over 20 years, up to 2019, to see if there are differences in how quickly children from different backgrounds are diagnosed and supported.

The project will also consider the impact of deprivation and gender on these diagnoses. The goal is to provide evidence on referral and diagnosis patterns for children from bi/multilingual families and ethnic minority backgrounds in Wales, where these groups are often underrepresented in healthcare systems. This understanding is critical for ensuring fair access to assessments and diagnoses.

While this research focuses on Wales, where 20% of the population speak Welsh, the findings could have broader implications.

“Around 60% of people worldwide are bilingual or multilingual, so this is a global issue,” Dr Ward said.

“Early diagnosis is crucial for providing children with the support they need to reach their full potential. Our research hopes to identify if delays in diagnosis are more prevalent in bilingual or ethnic minority children and if this impacts their education and overall development.

“If children are diagnosed later, it does raise questions of what would have happened if they were identified earlier, not only for that individual and their outcomes, but also for the wider family and everybody who has been involved in supporting that child.”

Long-term, this research aims to influence policy and practice, promoting earlier identification and better interventions for neurodiverse children. The team is also preparing a larger funding bid to extend the research to another databank in London, comparing the two regions and examining the impact of diagnoses on mental health and educational outcomes.