'I think my child is autistic': An Exploration of Parental Early Concerns and Experiences with Healthcare Professionals

Parents of autistic children frequently navigate convoluted autism assessment pathways on the journey to autism assessment for their child. When parents or carers first become aware of developmental differences in their child, they typically seek advice from healthcare professionals. However, research suggests that initial parental concerns about autism can be dismissed or minimised by professionals. No study to date has focused specifically on parents’ initial interactions with healthcare professionals and the associated impact on their child’s autism identification journey. The first paper of this thesis, a qualitative systematic literature review of twenty studies using the PRISMA framework, identifies and explores parents’ experience with the first healthcare professional they consulted when they had concerns regarding their child’s development. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed three key themes which included: healthcare professionals’ responses to parents’ initial concerns; autism awareness and knowledge amongst healthcare professionals; and the impact of racial, ethnic, and gender biases in the initial stages of the autism assessment process. The second paper, a qualitative empirical study, explored parents’ initial developmental concerns in relation to their child and their subsequent first encounter with healthcare professionals in the Republic of Ireland. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve parents of autistic children. Reflexive thematic analysis of the data revealed three key themes which captured factors facilitating and inhibiting autism assessment and identification, the range of experiences, often marked by inconsistency parents had with the first healthcare professionals they encountered, as well as the complicated journey to autism assessment and identification following those encounters. Findings from this research highlight the importance of healthcare professionals being receptive to parents’ early concerns, the need for clearer autism assessment and identification pathways, as well as the importance of promoting autism training across allied health professionals.