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'I Was Confused … and Still Am' Barriers Impacting the Help-Seeking Pathway for an Autism Diagnosis in Urban North India: A Mixed Methods Study

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Bibliographic Details
Title: 'I Was Confused … and Still Am' Barriers Impacting the Help-Seeking Pathway for an Autism Diagnosis in Urban North India: A Mixed Methods Study
Language: English
Authors: Bhavnani, Supriya (ORCID 0000-0002-0855-2139), Lockwood Estrin, Georgia, Arora, Rashi, Kumar, Divya, Kakra, Minal, Vajaratkar, Vivek, Juneja, Monica, Gulati, Sheffali, Patel, Vikram, Green, Jonathan, Divan, Gauri
Source: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Apr 2022 52(4):1778-1788.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2022
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Barriers, Help Seeking, Clinical Diagnosis, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Foreign Countries, Parents
Geographic Terms: India
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05047-z
ISSN: 0162-3257
Abstract: Timely recognition of autism in children is integral to improve developmental outcomes. This study used mixed-methods (84 case-registers and 20 in-depth interviews with caregivers of children with a diagnosis of autism) to explore the extent to which the nature of parental concerns and prior knowledge of developmental disorders impact the time between symptom recognition and autism diagnosis, and the contextual family, societal and health-system related factors that impede the autism help-seeking pathway. Lack of awareness of age-appropriate child developmental milestones, apparent amongst the community and health professionals, contributed to a 1.5-year delay between parental concerns and autism diagnosis. Recommendations to shorten this help-seeking pathway include harnessing the potential of non-specialist workers to increase awareness and enable developmental monitoring of young children through scalable tools.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2022
Accession Number: EJ1330315
Database: ERIC
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Abstract:Timely recognition of autism in children is integral to improve developmental outcomes. This study used mixed-methods (84 case-registers and 20 in-depth interviews with caregivers of children with a diagnosis of autism) to explore the extent to which the nature of parental concerns and prior knowledge of developmental disorders impact the time between symptom recognition and autism diagnosis, and the contextual family, societal and health-system related factors that impede the autism help-seeking pathway. Lack of awareness of age-appropriate child developmental milestones, apparent amongst the community and health professionals, contributed to a 1.5-year delay between parental concerns and autism diagnosis. Recommendations to shorten this help-seeking pathway include harnessing the potential of non-specialist workers to increase awareness and enable developmental monitoring of young children through scalable tools.
ISSN:0162-3257
DOI:10.1007/s10803-021-05047-z