Age of autism diagnosis in Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Across Latin America and the Caribbean, autism diagnosis happens two full years after parents first worry — so screen early and involve extended family.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Montiel-Nava et al. (2024) asked the caregivers in six Latin-American and Caribbean countries when they first saw autism signs and when the child was finally diagnosed.
Families filled out an online survey in Spanish or Portuguese. The team also asked who paid for the visit: public insurance, private plan, or out of pocket.
What they found
Parents noticed delays at 22 months, but the average diagnosis came at 46 months — a two-year wait.
Kids with milder traits waited even longer. Families using only public services also faced extra months of delay.
How this fits with other research
Klein et al. (2024) asked Black and multiracial U.S. families the same questions and found the same two-year gap. Both studies show the delay is real across cultures.
Sicherman et al. (2018) looked at U.S. kids and found that close family — especially grandmothers — shaved 5-10 months off the wait. The LAC study did not measure family help, so the numbers look worse, but the stories align.
Rahman et al. (2025) mapped services in Bangladesh. Like LAC, families there wait long but still praise the few programs that exist. Together the papers sketch a global picture: in low-resource regions diagnosis lags, not because signs are missed, but because systems are thin.
Why it matters
If you work with Latino families, expect that caregivers already saw the signs at toddler age. Start screening at 18 months, not 36. Hand parents short, picture-based checklists in Spanish or Portuguese and invite grandmothers to visits — they often spot details first. Push your public clinic for walk-in screening days; the study shows public coverage helps wallets but hurts speed, so you must close that gap.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
An earlier diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder might lead to earlier intervention. However, people living in Latin American and Caribbean countries do not have much knowledge about autism spectrum disorder symptoms. It has been suggested that the older a child is when diagnosed, the fewer opportunities he or she will have to receive services. We asked 2520 caregivers of autistic children in six different Latin America and Caribbean Countries, the child's age when they noticed some developmental delays and their child's age when they received their first autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. Results indicate that, on average, caregivers were concerned about their child's development by 22 months of age; however, the diagnosis was received when the child was 46 months of age. In addition, older children with better language abilities and public health coverage (opposed to private health coverage) were diagnosed later. On the contrary, children with other medical problems and more severe behaviors received an earlier diagnosis. In our study, children were diagnosed around the time they entered formal schooling, delaying the access to early intervention programs. In summary, the characteristics of the autistic person and the type of health coverage influence the age of diagnosis in children living in Latin America and Caribbean Countries.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2024 · doi:10.1177/13623613221147345