A Profile of the children in the Puerto Rico Autism Center

The Puerto Rico Autism Center was established a year ago with the purpose of offering diagnostic and intervention services to children with autism from 0-5 years and their families. The Autism Center was developed by the Institute for Developmental Disabilities (PR-UCEDD) in collaboration with the Department of Health of Puerto Rico. The Autism Center was designed as a family-centered service model designed to promote family competencies and to use other resources and opportunities in livable communities, empowering families so that they can be included in their social contexts. Objective: To describe socio demographics and community characteristics of children with autism and their families in Puerto Rico. Methods: A child record revision of the Autism Center was done to analyze socio demographics and community variables. From 2012, 178 children were evaluated by the pediatrician, social worker and psychologist for autism diagnosis. Already 52 children were diagnosed with autism.  Results: Based on record revision of family characteristics of children, 2.9% of mothers have less of high school, 23.2% high school, 73.9% more than high school. A 8.6% of families have another child with special needs. Related to community variables, a 12% reported their community as insecure and 65% as peaceful. Also, 17.3% reported their houses as not adequate. Conclusion: Children with autism and families experience a variety of socio demographics and environmental conditions that could be important to include when coordinating interventions with this population.