title: Experiences of autism diagnosis: A survey of over 1000 parents in the United Kingdom.
abstract: 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.
authors: City University London, UK Laura.Crane.2@city.ac.uk.
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Crane
authors: Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
authors: James W
authors: JW
authors: Chester
authors: Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
authors: Lorna
authors: L
authors: Goddard
authors: City University London, UK.
authors: Lucy A
authors: LA
authors: Henry
authors: Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
authors: Elisabeth
authors: E
authors: Hill
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: autism; autism spectrum disorder; diagnosis; parent; satisfaction; support; survey