Inclusion of Participants With Limited English Proficiency in Autism Research.

Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026 · Systematic Review · PT · OT · SLP
Ava Weiran Lu, Cambrynne DeJong, Mary Grace Harris, Mariah Samuelle Johnson, Purnima Mudnal, Luis Rivas Vazquez, Yanira Belen Espinosa, Daniela Kotsonis, Maya I Ragavan, Sarabeth Broder-Fingert, Marijane White, Katharine E Zuckerman

A systematic review of 1,007 autism studies found that only 19% included participants with limited English proficiency, and just 18% of randomized trials did — meaning most intervention evidence may not apply to your LEP patients.

Key findings

1

Of 1,007 autism studies screened, 326 met inclusion criteria, and of those, 61 (19%) included participants with limited English proficiency.

2

Only 18% of randomized controlled trials included LEP participants, meaning most intervention evidence for ASD has not been tested in this population.

3

Spanish was the most commonly included non-English language (70% of LEP-inclusive studies), and oral communication was most often handled by a bilingual research team member rather than a professional interpreter (24 of 31 studies specifying a method used a team member; only 2 used interpreters).

MethodologyResultsClinical Relevance

Single-blind randomized controlled trial. Sixty-four participants were randomized across two intervention arms and assessed at twelve weeks for the primary outcome…

Sign in to read the deep summary

Create a free account to read the methodology, results and clinical relevance — three full summaries a month, no card.

Summarised by AI from the abstract, not the full paper. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed