King's College London

Understanding the possible social and demographic determinants of inequities in receiving an autism diagnosis is essential for planning access to health, educational, and social service interventions. Autism spectrum disorder is a common, heterogenous neurodevelopmental condition, with a prevalence of around one in 57 children in England, and is characterised by differences in social interaction and communication and repetitive sensorimotor behaviours. Learning disability, mental health, and physical comorbidities are common in autistic people. 1 , 2 Timely evidence-based assessments and personalised interventions are hence important to improve quality of life for autistic children. In The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, Andres Roman-Urrestarazu and colleagues 3 examine whether variability in the incidence of autism in the English state-funded school system is due to area-level and family-level social and demographic determinants. They also assess the association between health service boundaries and autism incidence.