Obtaining an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis is often challenging for parents. The purpose of this study was to better understand this process and examine how elements of the process may influence parent satisfaction. A total of 406 parents of autistic children participated. Participants were administered a survey covering the ASD…

Children on the autism spectrum miss more school than their peers, but limited work has explored why this may be. This study aimed to document the frequency at which children on the autism spectrum miss half and full days of school and the reasons for these absences. Parents of 106 school-aged children on the autism spectrum completed online…

Background: Black families of children with autism spectrum disorder have less access to high quality, culturally responsive care for their children. Method: We assessed satisfaction and service utilization among fifty (29%) Black caregivers and 124 (71%) White caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder. We also examined whether race…

Purpose: Only a few studies examined the longitudinal pattern of parent-teacher reports on autism severity and comorbidities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and yielded conflicting results. The study's aims were to compare parents and teachers' perception of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety symptoms severity in…

Purpose: Follow-up studies of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in early childhood that focus on friendship formation during adolescence are scarce. The present study focused on exploring characteristics possibly related to the ability to establish friendships during adolescence among children diagnosed with ASD in…

Loneliness has been associated with several adverse psychosocial outcomes in childhood and adolescence. The present study aimed to investigate feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction in school-aged typically-developing (TD) siblings of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For this purpose, 118 siblings of children with ASD…

The transition outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families are less than desirable. A survey of parent stressors, resources, coping/appraisals, and adaptation to transition was completed by 226 parents. The mediating mechanisms between stressors and parent outcomes were identified. At the indicator level, three…

We examined the relationship between initial parenting stress and change in parental responsivity for 56 culturally and socioeconomically diverse families in a 12 week randomized control trial of Pathways Early ASD Intervention. Families were randomized into the Pathways (n = 32) or treatment-as-usual (TAU n = 24) group. Overall, Pathways parents…

This study investigated health-related QoL (HRQoL) and care-related quality of life (CarerQol) in clinically referred children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and their primary and secondary caregivers. The EuroQol five-dimensional (EQ-5D) and the CarerQol questionnaires were used to respectively measure health-related QoL and care-related…

Although numerous studies have demonstrated that social support affects a range of life experiences, few have examined its moderating and mediating effects. In the current study, 479 Chinese parents of children with ASD (aged 3-18 years) completed the surveys assessing parenting stress, social support and life satisfaction. Results indicated that…

High levels of parenting stress have been detected in mothers of children with Autism (ASD) and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) comparing with mothers of typically developing (TD) children. The current study explored the implications of social support (confidant and affective support) and child characteristics…

Little is known regarding the dynamic interactions between fathers and mothers in families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during the parenting process. This study used an actor-partner interdependence mediation (APIMeM) model to investigate the intrapersonal and interpersonal effects of emotion dysregulation and parenting stress…

Purpose: To explore the recalled experience of pregnancy and motherhood in women diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) without intellectual disabilities, focusing on sensory perceptions and mood. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated, through an ad-hoc structured interview, the sensory sensitivity during the pre-partum, the peri-partum,…

Few studies have examined the relationships among parents' resilience, parenting stress, and social support. This study surveyed 486 parents of children with disability in China to understand the role of social support between parenting stress and parents' resilience. The results indicated that the resilience of Chinese parents of children with…

Insomnia is one of the most common co-occurring disorders in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this cross-sectional cohort study of 270 children with ASD was to assess the prevalence of insomnia using the Pediatric Sleep Clinical Global Impression Scale and to correlate sleep problems with cognitive level, adaptive…