Table 2.
Overview of methods and findings.
| Topic Authors (year) |
Sample | Methods | Key findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Previous reviews on Indigenous Australians with autism | |||
| Wilson and Watson (2011) | 3 peer-reviewed journal articles | No formal search procedure. Narrative synthesis | • Limited research on Indigenous Australians with autism |
| Green et al. (2018) | 13 peer-reviewed journal articles 18 grey literature publications |
Systematic integration literature review and narrative synthesis | • Factors in cross-sector collaborations identified at the levels of: (1) government departments, agencies, and policies; (2) communication, financial and human resources, and service delivery; and (3) relationships and intra-professional learning |
| Bennett and Hodgson (2017) | 2 peer-reviewed journal articles | Key word search and narrative synthesis | • Limited research on Indigenous Australians with autism |
| Autism diagnosis and prevalence | |||
| Roy and Balaratnasingam (2010) | 14 Indigenous adults | Developmental history and psychiatric assessment to investigate instances of suspected missed autism diagnosis | • Of 14 adults identified as having an unclear diagnosis of schizophrenia and suspect development, 13 met DSM-IV criteria for autism |
| Leonard et al. (2011) | 393,329 children in Western Australia born between 1984 and 1999 | Univariate analyses to investigate links between socio-demographic characteristics and autism | • Indigenous mothers significantly less likely to have a child diagnosed with autism as compared to Caucasian mothers |
| Graham (2012) | ‘Schools Locator’ database and ‘My School’ website | Enrolments in support schools/total enrolments compared across Indigenous and non-Indigenous students | • Indigenous children equally represented in schools for children with autism Indigenous children significantly over-represented in schools for ‘specific purposes’ |
| Bent et al. (2015) | 15,074 children receiving support through the HCWAP | Mann–Whitney U tests to compare age of diagnosis across Indigenous and non-Indigenous children | • No difference in age of diagnosis between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children Smaller proportion of Indigenous children with Asperger’s syndrome |
| Carer and service provider perspectives | |||
| Casuscelli and Reimer (2017) | Service providers from Positive Partnerships and the First Peoples Disability Network | Project to improve awareness and understanding of autism | • Strategies and materials to improve service access based on the ‘Aboriginal 8 ways of learning’ |
| McDonald and Zetlin (2004) | Service providers from various disability organisations | Semi-structured interviews and focus groups | • Limited awareness of autism Barriers to diagnosis Barriers to support |
| Higgins and Beecher (2010) | Parents and service providers from 20 Indigenous child care centres | Interviews. No formal procedure reported | • Limited awareness of autism Variability in perception of autism Barriers to diagnosis Barriers to support Strategies to improve service access |
| DiGiacomo et al (2013) | 17 service providers and 5 carers of Indigenous children with disabilities | Community forums | • Barriers to diagnosis Barriers to support Strategies to improve service access |
| Green et al. (2016) | 19 carers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with disabilities | Semi-structured interviews | • Limited awareness of autism Barriers to support Strategies to improve service access |
| DiGiacomo et al. (2017) | 19 carers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with disabilities | Semi-structured interviews | • Barriers to support Strategies to improve service access Impacts on carer health and well-being |
| Green et al. (2018) | 19 carers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with disabilities | Semi-structured interviews | • Barriers to support Strategies to improve service access Carers’ experiences with service providers |
| Lilley et al. (2018) | 11 carers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with autism | Semi-structured interviews | • Barriers to support Strategies to improve service access Carers’ experiences with diagnostic pathways |
| Positive Partnerships (2018) | 10 carers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with autism | Written submission, face-to-face and telephone interview | • Limited awareness of autism Variability in perception of autism across communities Strategies to improve service access Perceived benefits of diagnosis |
| Green (2018) | 24 service providers in Western Sydney | Semi-structured interviews | • Barriers to diagnosis Barriers to support Strategies to improve service access |