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Post by Admin on May 9, 2016 17:15:44 GMT -4
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Post by VG on May 10, 2016 10:46:03 GMT -4
It was an interesting read. I think it is important for people working in all public field including police officers to be educated in mental illness. Mentally ill patient need to be treated differently and without training police officers they would not know how to deal with them appropriately. And its horrifying to know that most times it ends with police brutality when it could have been dealt with differently. I think it is time for police officers to receive better training or take away their guns. There has to be a safer way to apprehend criminals without killing them. I am sick of reading about a next man being shot by the police.
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Post by Tanu Thakur on May 10, 2016 13:37:15 GMT -4
I couldn't relate much to the article and the concern regarding autism in various races wasn't put forward well. Personally, I think that autism is a disorder prevalent worldwide and in all races. Research is a scientific study that shouldn't ideally be limited to a particular race because ethically speaking, studies are being done for the better of the mankind. Also, not all cultures are open to psychiatric disorders and that's where counselling comes into picture. The racial bias should not be the issue at hand, but bringing more awareness and finding more treatment strategies for autism should be the concern.
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Post by Cliff Thomas on May 10, 2016 14:52:23 GMT -4
Why is there a racial bias associated with autism research? Some racial groups may associate stigmas to the disorder (article suggests Koreans), or have never heard of the disorder (article again suggests Koreans). The article also suggests it may be due to a lack of ability to communicate with patients, or between the patient and their child (article points at African Americans), or lacks trust in providers (I believe the article pointed at Mexicans). I'm curious of the ethnicity of the writer (I'm going to take a guess - Caucasian). The writer also stabs at physicians stating they might have their own racial biases and think along the lines of, "if the child's disobedient and black, it's not autism, it's a conduct disorder." I think the writer could have gone a step further, and pick on low SES white families for intolerable accents and smelling like Coors in the AM - but the article focuses on bringing down the other racial groups for some reason, when the core factor is likely access to sufficient money and education, regardless of skin color or creed. I think a more constructive read regarding autism would be centered around mirror neurons and their function with autism, as it's something they don't teach in medical school (and better yet, it doesn't feel racist-y): cbc.ucsd.edu/pdf/brokenmirrors_asd.pdf.
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Post by Amanda Nelli on May 11, 2016 9:26:12 GMT -4
This is a very interesting view of autism. With current research, we k ow it si important to diagnose autism as early as possible to help redirect the neurons for a less severe disease. I think this aritcle makes a good point towards the beginning stating that a diagnosis is not a high priority for families who are concerned with basic needs foe living (food, shelter, etc). I personally think that the decrease in diagnosis in minority groups is due to this fact. It tends to be more prevalent in minority communities for parents to be more concerned with providing food for their kids, working multiple jobs. This is not to say that all minority communities or people fall into this. There are many successful people and families that came from poverty but have worked hard and risen above. And many white individuals and families live in poverty as well. However, I think as health care professionals we need to look beyond socioeconomic status and give the same standard of care to all patients that we see.
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Post by Arjun Kundra on May 11, 2016 10:57:47 GMT -4
Being free of bias to socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic profiles should be upheld valiantly in the field of medicine. Though we are taught about epidemiology of disease and it's role in exploring differential diagnoses, it should not become a barrier for accessing medical care. This article does point out that different ethnic/socioeconomic groups may be facing different challenges but I think it does a poor job of accurately depicting a realistic picture of the problem by painting broad strokes over whole ethnicities. The demographic of a certain region should dictates the focus of that health center and their ability to tailor access to care for their patients. One fact that I can agree with in this article, is that as socioeconomic status decreases, the challenges for parents increases and forces a shift in priorities such as focus on basic necessities. Having said this, it is clear that in medicine being practiced today there is no place where discrimination based on race/ethnicity/socioeconomic status is acceptable or should be tolerated.
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Post by Manuel Pabom on May 11, 2016 13:05:46 GMT -4
I appreciate the need to try to minimize research bias in understanding subtle complexities relevant to autism, but I think the real issue lies in managing some of the socioeconomic differences between cultures and communities which translate to misdiagnosis and late treatment of autistic patients. Autism is a generally well-understood condition and not a tremendously difficult diagnosis to make by an astute pediatrician, but it is a disorder in which initiation of treatment early on can make for a significantly better life for the patient (and family) down the road. Educating parents and communities of the signs and symptoms of autism should become a priority, as well as ensuring a balanced level of medical quality in under-served communities (which is a problem that goes far beyond the reach of just us medical professionals). It is this way that we can correctly diagnosis and make long-lasting differences in the lives of autistic patients and their loved ones.
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Melissa (Buhl) Burman
Guest
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Post by Melissa (Buhl) Burman on May 11, 2016 13:14:37 GMT -4
It’s interesting how Autism spectrum has evolved in the medial community over the years and how more and more research is actually contributing to the epidemiological changes seen in this disease. As more parents and communities learn what Autism Spectrum disorders are, the prevalence and newly diagnosed cases are increasing. This is an interesting article to point out an entire minority group that has been left out of a lot of this research and if included would increase prevalence even further.
On interesting point I found was that African Americans are 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than Caucasian Americans and are often misdiagnosed with conduct or adjustment disorder. I think it’s interesting that the article points to the parents lack of understanding of the symptoms of autism or that inability to explain to the Dr. what is going on with their child, so they get a misdiagnosis.
Another interesting point that the article mentioned was the concerns parents had about their child’s diagnosis and were reluctant to accept it as a result of stigmas that are attached to the disease within the communities. Such stigma was also preventing these parents from seeking treatment. It’s great to hear so many research and out reach programs getting involved in all types of communities to better educate parents and members of the community. Hopefully with an increase in education, some of the stigmas tied to the disease will fade.
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Post by AA on May 12, 2016 3:37:04 GMT -4
The article was quite interesting and it actually brought into the limelight the problems faced by some ethnic mminority groups in the United States with regards to the diagnosis of some neurological disorders. According to the article, black kids are 2.6 times less likely to be diagnosed with autism during their first visit to the physician and which translates to the fact that some physicians as well as parents in the affected minority groups are still ignorant of the fact that some neurological issues are present in the population. Another issue to be addressed is the stigma associated with neurological conditions in the ethnic minority groups and which consequently prevents such affected individual to seek the necessary help for their kids. There is the need for an enlightenment program which would provide the necessary education to these minority groups about the existence of such neurological problems and also the need for such problems to be adequately and promptly addressed and this can start from community and public health clinics which provide care for these monitory groups especially those in the low socioeconomic status (also a reason why such affected individuals are not forthcoming about their conditions).
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Post by IA on May 12, 2016 9:50:16 GMT -4
I wouldn't say there s a racial bias but Just like so many other studies in the medical field, studies on Autism misrepresent the prevalence and situation of Autism in our society. This inaccuracy is also the reason for the misdiagnosis and misunderstanding of the condition. We still have a long way to go in enlightening the public about the prevalence and attributes of autism in our societies. This is important so that Parents can know what to watch out for in their developing kids and also know how to relay it to physicians and physicians can therefore make more accurate diagnosis. We need to cut across different races and cultures in Autism awareness and relay the message in a way that will be receptive to different people. The system will remain flawed if a misperception of the condition, unacceptance of treatment options and misunderstanding of the benefits of an accurate diagnosis persists.
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Post by Babak Izadi on May 12, 2016 10:02:42 GMT -4
Education and training is always important yet very difficult to achieve in large, especially when it's medically based and the information is being sent to people outside the medical field. For many cultures and regions psychological and mental disease is not only ignored but also feared by families for the impact it will have on their name, their credibility, and their status. As previously stated this research shouldn't be racially based for many reasons, including the high rate of the autism occurring from "random" mutations, but more focused on education, training, and psycho/social support.
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Post by Diana W. on May 12, 2016 11:15:52 GMT -4
This article sheds incredible light on the disparities in not only diagnosing autism among races, but also the resources available to children who have it. However, the internet is certainly one way to educate people about autism. Since there is a stigma attached to mental illness in some cultures, these parents can read and learn how to help their children in the privacy of their own home. However, the challenge is to bring awareness to these various internet resources - such as First Words and Autism Navigator. As a result, I think it is ingenious that government agencies are now supporting community-based research. It is imperative to gain trust and rapport in the field of psychiatry. By going to churches and organizations such as the National Black Church Initiative and holding information workshops at community centers, people are not only going to be more trusting but also more well-informed. This can only lead to better outcomes for the autistic children in their community. This is especially important because autism not only affects interpersonal interactions, but also has physical manifestations - GI conditions, sleep disorders, and epilepsy. It has also been linked to schizophrenia.
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Post by Bradford Levison on May 12, 2016 11:45:36 GMT -4
Low-cost programs aimed at aiding families with autistic children are crucial when the focus of those programs is to reach out to minority families who may not be able to afford more conventional forms of therapy. Amy Yee highlights the Rush’s therapy group as one such program, and as these programs become more prevalent in the nation, perhaps awareness will increase as well. Parents in the minority and majority alike will know what to look for in an autistic child. This will aid in diagnosis accordingly. As for the lack of a minority research sample, I think that as this awareness increases, the minority population will become more likely to participate.
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Post by Osara M on May 12, 2016 12:01:15 GMT -4
It was a pleasure reading this article. This artical gives a new interesting view of autism even though I believe that autism is a disorder which can affect any type of a child in any race. I agree with this quote “We have children out there that we need to reach.” In this evolving world we need to focus on childen as a whole and not categorize them in to ethnicities. Moreover, we need to focus on how to educate the parents about ways of dealing with autistic children and provide with counselling for those parents who have autistic children. Overall, this article gives a broad knowledge about autism.
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Post by Keyvan Amini on May 12, 2016 12:13:59 GMT -4
In my opinion, the article by Mrs. Yee in regards to racial bias and autism has tried to prove a point in an absolutely wrong way. She has connected the false statistical values to race and racial bias, which couldn't be more wrong. It would have been much more acceptable to relate the values to lower socioeconomic and educational status. It is true that the parents who are struggling financially or linguistically may not have their child evaluated early or even at all, but these misfortunes may be found in any racial group. Also, I do not understand why the author has tried to focus on autism only, where her argument essentially would make almost all statistical data concerning early childhood syndromes and chronic illnesses meaningless. I think this article could have been better utilized, if the author would focus on how the system could be more optimized to encompass all people of every socioeconomic status.
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