Two semi-structured parental interviews are available with algorithms developed to measure DSM-5 criteria of ASD, namely the Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview (3di) and the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO-11). The main aim of this study was to examine the agreement between classification…

Racial disparities exist in autism diagnosis, and yet, the development of most diagnostic tools has not explicitly examined measurement equity between racial and ethnic groups. We examined the validity of the Toddler Autism Symptom Inventory (TASI), a semi-structured interview developed for diagnosis of toddlers, in non-Hispanic Black/African…

"Low-level" support is championed to support adults with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) to achieve good quality health and social care, yet research in the area is sparse. Drawing on semi-structured interview data, this paper considers the efficacy of an intervention to provide low-level support to adults with HFASD…

Parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are responsible for deciding which interventions to implement with their child. There is limited research examining parental decision-making with regards to intervention approaches. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was implemented in this study. Semi-structured interviews were…

In order to investigate the experience of anxiety and restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRB) in young people with ASD, 19 families with young people with ASD aged between 13 and 20 years completed questionnaire measures of RRB, anxiety, and intolerance of uncertainty. Ten young people also completed a novel semi-structured interview exploring…

Research exploring parents' experiences of having offspring with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) currently underrepresents fathers. This study aimed to develop an understanding of the experience of fathers, with a view to facilitating improved support. Eight fathers participated in semi-structured interviews exploring their experiences of fathering…

This research explored parents' perceptions of the psychosocial outcomes of their children's experience of receiving equine-assisted interventions (EAI). Participants were the parents of six children (aged 3-14) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted and the transcript data was analysed using…

An intervention has social validity to the extent that it is socially acceptable to participants and stakeholders. This pilot convergent mixed methods study evaluated parents' perceptions of the social validity of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), a naturalistic behavioral intervention for children with autism. It focused on whether the parents…

We conducted an online survey of adult health care providers at Kaiser Permanente Northern California and semi-structured interviews with a subset of physicians. The survey assessed providers' ability to recognize autism spectrum disorder (ASD), asked them to rate their autism knowledge, comfort level in treating affected patients, and evaluated…

The WHO Quality of Life-Brief questionnaire was used to assess quality of life (QoL) among 52 adults with autism (mean age 49 years) followed-up since childhood. Overall, assessments of QOL were more positive than measures of objective social outcome (jobs, independence, relationships etc.) but correlations between caregiver and self-reports were…

We used Framework Analysis to investigate the female autism phenotype and its impact upon the under-recognition of autism spectrum conditions (ASC) in girls and women. Fourteen women with ASC (aged 22-30 years) diagnosed in late adolescence or adulthood gave in-depth accounts of: "pretending to be normal"; of how their gender led various…

This mixed-methods study examined gender differences in the social motivation and friendship experiences of adolescent boys and girls with autism relative to those without autism, all educated within special education settings. Autistic girls showed similar social motivation and friendship quality to non-autistic girls, while autistic boys…

This brief report presents preliminary data on the attitudes of judges on the sentencing of offenders with High Functioning Autism (HFA). Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with twenty-one California Superior Court Judges. Interviews were qualitatively coded and constant comparative analysis was utilized. Findings revealed that…

The aim was to describe the occupational transition process to upper secondary school, further education and/or work, and to discover what support influences the process from the perspectives of young adults with Asperger syndrome or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. This qualitative study was performed in Sweden and comprised interviews…

The research investigated feelings towards sex education and sexual awareness in young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Data were generated from the sexual knowledge, experiences, feelings and needs questionnaire (McCabe et al. 1999), the sexual awareness questionnaire (Snell et al. 1991) and semi-structured interviews. Twenty typically…