Unmet Needs of Families of School-Aged Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

AUTISM in children; CHI-squared test; STATISTICAL correlation; HEALTH services accessibility; MEDICAL needs assessment; MEDICAL quality control; NEEDS assessment; PARENTS of children with disabilities; QUESTIONNAIRES; RESEARCH funding; SURVEYS; T-test (Statistics); CROSS-sectional method; DATA analysis software; DESCRIPTIVE statistics

Background To aid decision making regarding the allocation of limited resources, information is needed on the perceived unmet needs of parents of school-aged children with an autism spectrum disorder. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 101 Canadian families of school-aged children with an autism spectrum disorder. Results Commonly reported unmet needs were for social activities for the child (78.2%), information about services (77.2%) and continuous service provision (74.3%). Conclusions This study provides insight into needs which have not been met by the service system. Information about the unmet needs of children with an autism spectrum disorder and their families may help policy makers and service providers to develop resources and services that are responsive to their client group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)