Autism in Black Families: Interview with Maria Davis-Pierre from Autism in Black

Dr. Mary Barbera and Maria Davis-Pierre discuss Autism in Black Families.
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Maria Davis-Pierre is the founder and CEO of Autism in Black, a group that provides autism information and awareness to families in the black community. When her daughter was only six months old, Maria Davis-Pierre noticed that she had such a slow response to loud noises that she began immediately to wonder if she had autism. As a mental health therapist, she had experience working in the school system with children, and she knew that early intervention was important. By the time her daughter was 18 months, there was no doubt that it was autism, but the doctors wanted to wait until she was three years old. That’s when Maria camped out in the doctor’s office every day until he finally agreed to give her a diagnosis.

Both Maria and her husband had medical backgrounds, and they knew that early treatment for autism would improve the trajectory of their daughter’s life. But for many black children, the statistics paint a different picture. 47% of black children who have autism also have an intellectual disability. This is double the burden of white children, who only have a 27% chance of having both. Even though these statistics are laid out along race, it’s important to note that this has nothing to do with genetics and it has everything to do with access to diagnosis and treatment.

In today’s video you’ll learn:
How the intersection of race and disability influences the diagnosis of a black child with autism.
Why understanding the black family culture is a key factor in providing effective therapy services.
The barriers for early diagnosis and early intervention for black children.

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Dr. Mary Barbera. I fell into the autism world as an autism mom in 1999 when her first-born son, Lucas, was diagnosed with autism. Since then, she became a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst and best-selling author of The Verbal Behavior Approach. Since 2015, she’s created 3 autism online courses based on applied behavior analysis for professionals and "gung-ho" parents. Whether you’re looking for autism parenting strategies, working with development delays in children, or in search of autism help for professionals, I can encourage you to subscribe to the channel and join me on my journey. I’ll be providing weekly autism resources that you don’t want to miss.