Abstract
Little is known about how parents talk about autism with their autistic children, particularly among families in which both a parent and child are autistic. Using an online survey, we gathered quantitative and qualitative data from 34 autistic parents (most of whom had told their children about their diagnosis) to address this knowledge gap. There was considerable overlap between the views and experiences of the autistic parents in this study and the largely non-autistic parent samples in previous research. Specifically, parents emphasised the importance of being open and honest about the diagnosis, disclosing the diagnosis as early as possible, individualising discussions to children’s needs and framing the diagnosis positively. There were, however, areas in which the views and experiences of the current sample differed from previous research on non-autistic samples. First, our sample of autistic parents outlined the benefits of their own experiential expertise, which they felt resulted in heightened understanding and empathy with their children. Second, our sample tended not to express concerns about disclosure potentially having a negative impact. Finally, our participants did not express a want or need for professional support with disclosure. Instead, they reported feeling well equipped to support their children using their own knowledge and lived experience.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1161 –1167 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Autism |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 4 Jan 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: Research at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE) is generously funded by the Pears Foundation.
Keywords
- autism spectrum disorders
- diagnosis
- disclosure
- family functioning and support
- parents