BILD - The British Institute of Learning Disabilities
Abstract
Having a child assessed for a possible diagnosis on the autism spectrum is a significant challenge for parents and it is important that research continues to be conducted to evaluate how parents feel about the process and what might be done to enhance this. National guidance on diagnostic assessment and autism have been produced (eg NAPC, 2003 and SIGN, 2007) and the National Institute of Clinical Excellence has also very recently published guidance on this. This paper explores the experiences of eight families living in North Wales on the diagnostic assessment process they experienced by two different teams. They were interviewed two years after the assessment which created the opportunity to ascertain how they felt about the support which followed too