Abstract
Compared to White children, Latino children with autism and other developmental disabilities experience worse outcomes in health care access, utilization, and quality. In a nationally-representative sample, Latino families consistently reported higher rates of problems with health care than White families. These results demonstrate that ethnic disparities in health care persist, despite recent policy attention focused on reducing them. The study also found a relationship between the quality of care that families receive and those families’ utilization of health care services. This means that health care providers, such as doctors and nurses, may be able to alleviate ethnic disparities through providing high-quality, culturally sensitive care to children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Policymakers interested in reducing or eliminating health care disparities should pursue policies to improve care at the level of the clinical encounter.