@phdthesis{discovery10019955,
          school = {Institute of Education, University of London},
            note = {Thesis: (D.Ed.Psy) University of London Institute of Education, 2010.},
           title = {An exploration of individual patterns of development of six pre-school children who have recently received a diagnosis of autism and the response of their parents to differing experiences of early support and intervention},
            year = {2010},
        abstract = {This study explores the individual patterns of development in aspects of cognitive
functioning, communication and language skills, social interaction and adaptive
behaviour of six pre-school children following a diagnosis of autism. The perceptions of
the parents were gained in order to explore their experiences of the impacts of a
diagnosis of autism on their families. Additionally, the experiences of three of the
children's parents who took part in the EarlyBird Programme and their perceptions of
its effects on the child and family were explored as part of the study. These views were
compared to two of the three children's parents who did not take part in the EarlyBird
Programme.
The study adopted a multiple case study design within a mixed methodology
framework. The research methods incorporated semi-structured interviews with five of
the six parents (one parent did not give consent to be interviewed), three standardised
assessment questionnaires (Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales-2, The Strengths and
Difficulties Questionnaire and The Gilliam Autism Rating Scales-2) of all six children
and psychometric assessments (The British Ability Scales-II) of five of the six children
(one child refused to cooperate with the researcher) as well as informal observations of
the children's behaviour. Data were gathered at two time points, approximately six
months apart.
Five of the six children in the study showed greater improvement than expected in
some aspects of their development over the time period of the study. However, the
significant individual and family differences and the limited sample size means that
developments in the children cannot be attributed to any one factor. Participation in the
EarlyBird Programme indicated reduced levels of maternal stress in the EarlyBird
group of parents, although this reduction was reported verbally and was not objectively measured. The positive impact of support, both from other parents and professionals
within the EarlyBird Programme, as well as increased support from fathers, as
encouraged by the programme, was a major theme which emerged from the interviews
with parents. It could be suggested that providing informal support to this population of
parents in the period immediately following diagnosis, as an alternative to a formal
programme, might yield similar results.},
             url = {https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10019955/},
          author = {McCauley, Louise B.}
}