Effective practices for supporting families with autistic children ensure a match between their needs and the expectations and competencies of the clinician. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) services are a common provision for serving autistic individuals. However, in regions where ABA is in its infancy, like the Czech Republic and North Macedonia,…

This paper describes and reflects upon the first author's journey from teacher to researcher, working with deafblind children and young people, and the research teams' development of person-centred research methods. Historically deafblind people, particularly children and young people, have rarely been included in participation action research, in…

Children and youth in foster care and their caregivers often experience mental health challenges. Rural settings introduce barriers that prevent these youth from accessing such services. Nevertheless, rural area school personnel, and particularly special educators, are positioned to help improve access to mental health services for foster care…

Rehabilitative and habilitative therapies can help children with disabilities increase independence and overall wellbeing. However, children and their caregivers face many barriers to accessing these therapies and often rely on the school for therapy access. Given the limited resources available within the special education system, increasing…

Background: There is limited qualitative research focussed specifically on what it is like for children and young people with intellectual disabilities coming into hospital, with much of the evidence-base being about those with Autism Spectrum Condition or adults with intellectual disabilities. Aim: To share rich detail of the emotional and…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant changes across society. This Delphi study aimed to gain expert consensus on challenges faced and resource needs for autistic children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Round 1 of the Delphi method employed semi-structured interviews with experts (N = 24) which were thematically analysed in order to…

Emotionally based school non-attendance (EBSNA) difficulties negatively impact children and young people (CYP) and their families at many levels. EBSNA is complex, often involving individual and contextual risk factors which may require a school-wide or multi-agency response. This action research study in one UK local authority explored how…

Background: Many parents are the primary caregivers for their adult children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. While there can be many benefits of caregiving, there can also be negative consequences for the parent caregiver and, in turn, for their adult child with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Given the…

In 2019, the President of the European Commission announced the creation of the European Child Guarantee, an initiative that aimed to combat child poverty by making sure that every child who lives in poverty has access to free healthcare, free education, free childcare, decent housing and adequate nutrition. With "Delivering the EU Child…

The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth understanding of the challenges Ugandan parents of children with autism face. Caring for a child with autism poses unique challenges to families and deserves tailor-made remedies. Autism is understudied in Uganda and Africa. This qualitative study reports on results from focus group discussions…

Understanding caregivers' needs is crucial for service planning and empowering caregivers around the world. Although research on autism from Arab countries is emerging, many countries are still unrepresented. Moreover, within-country disparities are understudied. This study investigated differences in needs, service use, and satisfaction between…

There has been limited research on families of autistic children in Ecuador, especially in relation to their experiences of accessing a diagnosis and associated support. In this study, we surveyed 767 families about their diagnostic and post-diagnostic journeys. Of these, 651 families had children who had received a formal autism diagnosis. In…

"A Guide to Best Practice in Special Education, Health and Social Care" explores and explains the changes in governmental policies across the education, health and social care services, and what they mean for young individuals, parents and professionals. In a period of significant change, many practitioners need to understand the…

Although it is well-documented that families of children with autism in developed nations report hardships, few researchers have focused on families who live in less-developed, low-resource settings. Using five focus groups with 30 parents of children with autism in Mongolia, a low-resource setting, the purpose of this study was to provide…

To examine the association between psychologist and nurse practitioner scope-of-practice (SoP) regulations and pediatric mental health service access. A nationally representative sample of children with mental health needs was identified using 5 years of National Survey of Children's Health (2016-2020). Utilization was measured in two ways: (1)…