Indigenous Autism in Canada: A Scoping Review

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Bruno, G., Chan, T. A., Zwaigenbaum, L., Coombs, E., Circle, T. I. R., & Nicholas, D. (2023). Indigenous Autism in Canada: A Scoping Review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 54(9), 3478-3491. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-06045-z

Publication date: 22 Jul 2023 Added to AutiHub: 9 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
6
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 6 (16.7%)
  1. Grant Bruno
  2. Titus A Chan
  3. Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
  1. Emily Coombs *
  2. The Indigenous Relations Circle
  3. David Nicholas

Abstract

Abstract Currently there is a severe lack of research on autism and Indigenous people in Canada. This scoping review explores this literature gap and assesses the same literature from an Indigenous perspective. Scoping reviews are an effective means to explore the literature in a specific area, in this case, autism and Indigenous people in Canada. We explored existing literature as it pertains to Indigenous populations and autism in Canada. To support this review, the Indigenous Quality Assessment Tool (QAT) was adapted to appraise the quality of literature. In total, there were a total of 212 articles identified of which 24 met the inclusion criteria: (1) some focus on autism, (2) a component specific to Indigenous people, and (3) specific to Canada. Of the 24 articles and reports, 15 were peer-reviewed and the rest considered grey literature. Most articles focused on program delivery with some literature using primary data (quantitative and/or qualitative). Overall, the quality of the research was appraised as poor, as determined by the QAT. Findings reaffirm the critical need for research that addresses autism in Indigenous communities within Canada and show the importance of having research done in full partnership with, or led by, Indigenous people.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 07:51.

Cited references
50
With a DOI
36
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
13
4 / 50 (8.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
8 / 50 (16.0%)
References with detected author names
44 / 50 (88.0%)
Without detected author names
6
Without a structured title
8
Without a stable identifier
12
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
153
From DOI or external metadata
153
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
14
29 / 153 (19.0%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 124 / 153 (81.0%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
4 / 153 (2.6%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 4 / 29 (13.8%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 3 / 138 (2.2%).
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