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Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodiverse condition of impaired social communication, interaction/reciprocity and restrictive/repetitive behaviour. A better understanding of the epidemiological distribution of this condition can help in raising awareness in various communities and therefore early diagnosis and intervention can be implemented. NICE guidelines suggest further research is needed to explore causes of under-recognition of autism in at-risk groups like people from poor socio-economic conditions and where English is not the first language(1).

The objective of our study is to look at ethnic diversity in children and young people who were diagnosed to have ASD in our service (community paediatric team at Bedford). Bedford is a medium-sized town in Bedfordshire and has a unique and diverse population with 28.5% people from a Black or ethnic minority community according to 2011 census …