Table 1.
Characteristics of Caregivers and Their Children with ASD (n = 5,122)
| Characteristic | Number (%) |
|---|---|
| [except where indicated otherwise] | |
| Caregivers | |
| Age, years [mean (SD)] | 39.02 (7.30) |
| Relation to child | |
| Mother | 4719 (92.1) |
| Father | 314 (6.1) |
| Legal guardian | 55 (1.1) |
| Other | 34 (0.7) |
| Married/living with partner | 4101 (80.1) |
| Completed college or higher | 3259 (63.6) |
| Employment | |
| Working (full or part‐time) | 3024 (59.0) |
| Full‐time homemaker | 1541 (30.1) |
| Other | 557 (10.9 |
| Race/ethnicity | |
| White/non‐Hispanic | 3919 (76.5) |
| White/Hispanic | 301 (5.9) |
| Non‐white/non‐Hispanic | 650 (12.7) |
| Non‐white/Hispanic | 252 (4.9) |
| More than one child with autism in family | 801 (15.6) |
| Region | |
| West | 1297 (25.3) |
| Midwest | 1124 (21.9) |
| Northeast | 825 (16.1) |
| South | 1868 (36.5) |
| Unknown | 8 (0.2) |
| Metropolitan statistical area | |
| Metropolitan | 4158 (81.2) |
| Nonmetropolitan | 588 (11.5) |
| Unknown | 376 (7.3) |
| Self‐reported health | |
| Excellent | 838 (16.4) |
| Very good | 2049 (40.0) |
| Good | 1699 (33.2) |
| Fair | 448 (8.7) |
| Poor | 82 (1.6) |
| Missing | 6 (0.1) |
| Household income | |
| <$20,000 | 512 (10.0) |
| $20,000–$34,999 | 696 (13.6) |
| $35,000–$49,999 | 619 (12.1) |
| $50,000–$74,999 | 904 (17.6) |
| $75,000–$99,999 | 681 (13.3) |
| $100,000–$124,999 | 577 (11.3) |
| $125,000–$149,999 | 312 (6.1) |
| $150,000 or more | 576 (11.2) |
| Missing | 245 (4.8) |
| Children with autism (age 3 to <18) | |
| Age, years [mean (SD)] | 9.10 (3.92) |
| Male | 4096 (80.0) |
| Race/ethnicity | |
| White/non‐Hispanic | 3510 (68.5) |
| White/Hispanic | 501 (9.8) |
| Non‐white/non‐Hispanic | 830 (16.2) |
| Non‐white/Hispanic | 281 (5.5) |
| Caregiver‐reported child's health | |
| Excellent | 1694 (33.1) |
| Very good | 2174 (42.4) |
| Good | 1063 (20.8) |
| Fair | 169 (3.3) |
| Poor | 13 (0.3) |
| Missing | 9 (0.2) |
| Autism diagnosis | |
| ASD | 3786 (73.9) |
| Autism/autistic disorder | 553 (10.8) |
| Asperger syndrome | 455 (8.9) |
| PDDNOS | 289 (5.6) |
| Unknown/missing | 39 (0.8) |
| Age at autism diagnosis, years | |
| 0–2 | 1337 (26.1) |
| 3–4 | 1999 (39.0) |
| 5–9 | 1418 (27.7) |
| >9 | 348 (6.8) |
| Missing | 20 (0.4) |
| Years since autism diagnosis | |
| 0–1 | 1093 (21.3) |
| 2–3 | 1303 (25.4) |
| 4–5 | 883 (17.2) |
| 6–9 | 1130 (22.1) |
| ≥10 | 697 (13.6) |
| Missing | 16 (0.3) |
| Insurance | |
| Uninsured/unknown | 87 (1.7) |
| Only Medicaid | 1564 (30.5) |
| Only private (via employer) | 2083 (40.7) |
| One type of other coverage | 418 (8.2) |
| More than one type | 970 (18.9) |
| Insurance drug coverage | 4672 (91.2) |
| Prescription drug use | |
| Overall | 2683 (52.4) |
| Drugs for autism | 1718 (33.5) |
| Over‐the‐counter drug use | |
| Overall | 3106 (60.6) |
| Drugs for autism | 965 (18.8) |
| Medical problems | 2348 (45.8) |
| Other mental health or psychiatric problems | 2424 (47.3) |
| Primary care physician main healthcare provider | 2911 (56.8) |
| IQ test resultsa | |
| ≤70 | 464 (20.1) |
| 71–99 | 564 (24.5) |
| ≥100 | 789 (34.2) |
| Unknown | 488 (21.2) |
| Attending school with special education students only | 1109 (21.7) |
| Spending more than 60% of classroom time with typically developing peers | 2312 (45.1) |
ASD: Autism Spectrum Disorder; IQ: intelligence quotient; PDDNOS: pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified; SD: standard deviation.
a
IQ test results were available for n = 2,305 (45.0%).