An Australian Cross-Sectional Survey of Parents’ Experiences of Emergency Department Visits Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Garrick, A., Lee, M. L., Scarffe, C., Attwood, T., Furley, K., Bellgrove, M. A., & Johnson, B. P. (2021). An Australian Cross-Sectional Survey of Parents’ Experiences of Emergency Department Visits Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52(5), 2046-2060. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05091-9

Publication date: 1 Jun 2021 Added to AutiHub: 7 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
7
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 7 (14.3%)
  1. Alice Garrick
  2. Marie L. Lee
  3. Carrington Scarffe
  4. Tony Attwood *
  1. Kirsten Furley
  2. Mark A. Bellgrove
  3. Beth P. Johnson

Abstract

Parents of children with ASD who had attended an Australian emergency department (ED; n = 421) completed a questionnaire relating to their experiences in the ED, including (1) child's reason for presentation and existing comorbidities, (2) quality of care during the visit (3) child's behaviour during visit, e.g. sensory responses to the ED environment, and disruptive behaviours. Children with comorbid ASD and intellectual disability were more likely to present with gastrointestinal issues and seizures, while those with comorbid ASD and oppositional defiant disorder were more likely to present with self-injury. ED staff awareness of ASD-related issues, including communication and expression of pain, were common difficulties for parents. The ED environment (e.g. lights, sounds, waiting areas), exacerbated child anxiety and led to disruptive behaviour.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

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 01:04.

Cited references
45
With a DOI
41
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
3
0 / 45 (0.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
3 / 45 (6.7%)
References with detected author names
43 / 45 (95.6%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
3
Without a stable identifier
3
References with raw author names still to review
2
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
168
From DOI or external metadata
168
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
5
16 / 168 (9.5%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 152 / 168 (90.5%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
0 / 168 (0.0%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 0 / 16 (0.0%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 0 / 144 (0.0%).
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