%0 Journal Article
%@ 1461-7005
%A Crane, L
%A Chester, JW
%A Goddard, L
%A Henry, LA
%A Hill, EL
%D 2016
%F discovery:1548895
%I SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
%J Autism
%K autism, autism spectrum disorder, diagnosis, parent, satisfaction, support, survey
%N 2
%P 153-162
%T Experiences of autism diagnosis: A survey of over 1000 parents in the United Kingdom
%U https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1548895/
%V 20
%X 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.
%Z This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.