ERIC Number: EJ1087160
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Feb
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-3613
EISSN: N/A
Experiences of Autism Diagnosis: A Survey of over 1000 Parents in the United Kingdom
Crane, Laura; Chester, James W; Goddard, Lorna; Henry, Lucy A; Hill, Elisabeth
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v20 n2 p153-162 Feb 2016
A sample of 1047 parents completed an online survey about their experiences and opinions regarding the process of attaining a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder for their children. The results revealed that parents usually waited a year from when they first had concerns about their child's development before they sought professional help. On average, there was a delay of around 3.5?years from the point at which parents first approached a health professional with their concerns to the confirmation of an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. Just over half of the parents surveyed were dissatisfied with the diagnostic process as a whole. Several factors predicted parents' overall levels of satisfaction with the diagnostic process, including the time taken to receive a diagnosis, satisfaction with the information provided at diagnosis, the manner of the diagnosing professional, the stress associated with the diagnostic process and satisfaction with post-diagnostic support. Post-diagnosis, the support (if any) that was provided to parents was deemed unsatisfactory, and this was highlighted as an area of particular concern among parents.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Parent Surveys, Autism, Online Surveys, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Parent Attitudes, Child Health, Disability Identification, Diagnostic Tests, Questionnaires, Clinical Diagnosis, Participant Satisfaction, Access to Health Care, Health Services
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A