title: Understanding Hong Kong Chinese Families' Experiences of an Autism/ASD Diagnosis.
abstract: Little is known about the experience of Chinese parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) living in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Seventy-five parents of children (aged 6 months-18 years) with ASD diagnoses completed the Family Quality of Life Scale. Forty-five parents from the original surveyed cohort, also participated in semi-structured interviews. Parents' perceptions of their child's disability were influenced both by their cultural background and by the limited and expensive, pre- and post-diagnostic services available. Longer waiting times to diagnosis were associated with lower emotional well-being and perceived disability-related support. Clinicians are encouraged to become part of the support network for parents of children with ASD, to help parents to adjust to caring for their child.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University Special Education Centre, Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University, Building X5A Room 209, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia. kathleen.tait@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6887-7237
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tait
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Room 219, 2/F, Runme Shaw Building, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong SAR.
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.affiliation: School of Education Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, AAB 844, 8/F, Academic & Admin. Building, 15# Baptist University Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR.
authors.forename: Aihua
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sweller
authors.affiliation: Northeast Forestry University, Economic Management Building, Harbin, Mainland China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life
keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Diagnosis; Hong Kong SAR; Parental information