Literature on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggests lower ASD prevalence and higher age of diagnosis among children of color, from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and from families with lower educational levels. These disparities have been attributed to factors such as limited access to diagnostic and treatment services, less opportunity for upward mobility to locales with ample resources, and linguistic barriers. However, few studies describe prevalence and geographic differences of ASD diagnoses by English Language Learner (ELL) status. The primary objectives of this study are to (1) spatially explore the prevalence of ASD among New York State school districts and (2) examine differences of ASD prevalence rates between ELLs and native English-speaking peers. Using the 2016–2017 district-level data on public and non-public school age students (3–21 years old) receiving special education services in New York, we analyzed sociodemographic trends among school districts with varying percentages (low, medium, and high ranges) of students with ASD and ELLs. To do this, we conducted exploratory spatial analyses using GIS software, analysis of school district level demographic data, and multivariate linear regression. In contrast to prior research on ASD prevalence among minority groups, we found disproportionately higher rates of ASD among school districts with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic students. Geographic analysis revealed statistically significant clustering of school districts with high ASD rates in New York City and Albany. Higher proportions of ELLs tended to be concentrated in densely populated, urban, and geographically smaller school districts and had higher proportions of Black, Hispanic, and Asian students. Schools with higher rates of ASD and ELL students tend to be concentrated in urban regions throughout New York and have higher representation of Black and Hispanic/Latino students, as well as higher rates of learning disabilities in general. Further research is warranted to explore possible reasons for this phenomenon.

中文翻译：

---

纽约学区自闭症率的探索性空间分析：社会人口统计学和语言差异的作用

关于自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的文献表明，有色人种、社会经济背景较低和家庭教育水平较低的有色人种儿童 ASD 患病率较低，诊断年龄较高。这些差异归因于诸如获得诊断和治疗服务的机会有限、向上流动到资源充足地区的机会较少以及语言障碍等因素。然而，很少有研究根据英语语言学习者 (ELL) 状态描述 ASD 诊断的患病率和地理差异。本研究的主要目标是 (1) 在空间上探索纽约州学区的 ASD 患病率，(2) 检查 ELL 和母语为英语的同龄人之间 ASD 患病率的差异。使用 2016-2017 年纽约公立和非公立学龄学生（3-21 岁）接受特殊教育服务的学区级数据，我们分析了不同百分比（低、中、高）学区的社会人口趋势范围）的 ASD 和 ELL 学生。为此，我们使用 GIS 软件进行了探索性空间分析、学区级人口数据分析和多元线性回归。与之前对少数群体中 ASD 患病率的研究相比，我们发现黑人和西班牙裔学生比例较高的学区的 ASD 发生率不成比例地更高。地理分析显示，纽约市和奥尔巴尼 ASD 率高的学区具有统计学意义的聚类。较高比例的 ELL 往往集中在人口稠密、城市和地理上较小的学区，并且黑人、西班牙裔和亚洲学生的比例较高。ASD 和 ELL 学生比例较高的学校往往集中在整个纽约的城市地区，黑人和西班牙裔/拉丁裔学生的比例更高，学习障碍的比例也更高。需要进一步的研究来探索这种现象的可能原因。以及总体上更高的学习障碍率。需要进一步的研究来探索这种现象的可能原因。以及总体上更高的学习障碍率。需要进一步的研究来探索这种现象的可能原因。