‘I wouldn’t want one or the other’: Understanding parents’ preferences for direct support or parent coaching for young autistic children

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Jordan, P., Wallace-Watkin, C., Tupou, J., Pillar, S., & Waddington, H. (2024). ‘I wouldn’t want one or the other’: Understanding parents’ preferences for direct support or parent coaching for young autistic children. Autism, 29(3), 740-753. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241287300

Publication date: 12 Oct 2024 Added to AutiHub: 29 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Phoebe Jordan *
  2. Carla Wallace-Watkin
  3. Jessica Tupou
  4. Sarah Pillar
  5. Hannah Waddington

Abstract

There has been considerable research into the barriers and facilitators of coaching parents of autistic children. However, little is known about parents’ preferences for this approach compared to support provided directly by a clinician to an autistic or potentially autistic child. This study aimed to examine parents’ relative preferences for parent coaching and direct clinician support. A total of 22 families who had received both approaches for their autistic child quantitatively indicated which they preferred. We then used semi-structured interviews with 11 of these participating parents to further investigate the reasons underlying these preferences. We used multiple methods to ensure trustworthiness and credibility. Four themes were identified through template analysis: (1) ‘I wouldn’t want one without the other’, (2) ‘It forced me outside my comfort zone’, (3) ‘It’s just about different types of learners’ and (4) ‘If our child is happy, then we are happy’. Overall, results indicated that parents appreciated characteristics of both approaches and felt that they complimented each other in helping themselves and their child. However, when forced to choose, parents generally expressed a preference for direct support. Many parents discussed their belief that their child experienced more enjoyment and progressed further through direct support. These findings emphasise the importance of honouring families’ preferences in the delivery of supports. Lay abstract Professionals often support autistic children by working with them directly (direct support) or by coaching their parents. We know a lot about what parents think about parent coaching, but we do not know as much about what they think about direct support. We also do not know whether parents prefer parent coaching or direct support. The current study involved 22 parents who each received 2 h a week of direct support for their autistic child and up to 1 h a week of parent coaching for 6 months. At the end of 6 months, all these parents indicated in a survey whether they preferred parent coaching or direct support. Eleven of these participating parents also chose to take part in an interview to understand more about these preferences. Our findings suggest that parents generally liked both supports and believed they worked well together; however, they preferred direct support over parent coaching. While parents think that both approaches are beneficial, there are strengths and challenges of each. These findings emphasise the importance of parent choice in the delivery of support. It may also be possible to adapt both approaches to address some of the identified challenges and improve the whole family’s experience.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 18:16.

Cited references
50
With a DOI
46
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
4
5 / 50 (10.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
3 / 50 (6.0%)
References with detected author names
47 / 50 (94.0%)
Without detected author names
3
Without a structured title
3
Without a stable identifier
3
References with raw author names still to review
3
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
220
From DOI or external metadata
220
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
29
73 / 220 (33.2%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 147 / 220 (66.8%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
6 / 220 (2.7%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 6 / 73 (8.2%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 6 / 197 (3.0%).
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