Autistic and autism community perspectives on infant and family support in the first two years of life: Findings from a community consultation survey

Most support programmes for Autistic children are available only after they are diagnosed. Research suggests that parenting supports may be helpful for parents and their infants, when provided in the first 2 years of life - before a formal diagnosis is given, but when information suggests an infant is more likely to be Autistic. However, we do not know how acceptable these types of supports might be to the Autistic and autism communities.

Citation:
Bent CA, Aulich A, Constantine C, ……… Whitehouse AJO, Hudry K. Autistic and autism community perspectives on infant and family support in the first two years of life: Findings from a community consultation survey. Autism. 2024

Keywords:
Autism; autistic; infancy; intervention; neurodiversity; parenting; participatory research; support.

Abstract:
Most support programmes for Autistic children are available only after they are diagnosed. Research suggests that parenting supports may be helpful for parents and their infants, when provided in the first 2 years of life - before a formal diagnosis is given, but when information suggests an infant is more likely to be Autistic. However, we do not know how acceptable these types of supports might be to the Autistic and autism communities.