Parent perspectives on services available to autistic children in Canada: A mixed methods survey study

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Caven, I., Hamdani, Y., Lunsky, Y., Weaver, C., & Penner, M. (2026). Parent perspectives on services available to autistic children in Canada: A mixed methods survey study. PLOS One, 21(8), e0353678. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0353678

Publication date: 20 Aug 2026 Added to AutiHub: 4 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Isabelle Caven
  2. Yani Hamdani
  3. Yona Lunsky
  4. Courtney Weaver *
  5. Melanie Penner

Abstract

Objectives Given the differing opinions among interest holders on services that are commonly accessed by autistic children, exploration of parent perspectives is needed to contribute to this knowledge base. Our objective was to explore perspectives of parents of autistic children on select services accessed by autistic children in Canada. Methods Using a mixed methods survey, the perspectives of parents of autistic children living in Canada on occupational therapy (OT), speech-language pathology (SLP) services, and applied behaviour analysis (ABA) based therapies were sought. The Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA) and its constructs were used to develop the survey and served as a framework for qualitative content analysis. Results Eighty-seven parents completed the survey. Acceptability scores were higher for OT and SLP compared to ABA (F (2, 239) = 43.42, p < 0.01). Related to the TFA construct of Ethicality, parent respondents shared concerns about potential harms of negative therapy experiences, emphasized the value of neurodiversity-affirming services and held mixed views on behavioural approaches. Under the construct of Perceived Effectiveness, acceptability was contingent on parents attributing improvements to the therapy and therapist fit. For the construct of Self-Efficacy, respondents reported the importance of therapist engagement with parents. Conclusions Across OT, SLP, and ABA, Ethicality, Perceived Effectiveness, and Self-Efficacy informed the perceived acceptability of autism services. This work highlights that many parents are concerned with promoting a positive autistic identity for their children, including through therapies. Future work should seek to develop shared definitions and goals for therapy between clinicians, parents/care partners, and autistic people.

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: 27 Oct 2026 10:33.

Cited references
53
With a DOI
41
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
12
15 / 53 (28.3%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
7 / 53 (13.2%)
References with detected author names
50 / 53 (94.3%)
Without detected author names
3
Without a structured title
7
Without a stable identifier
12
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
207
From DOI or external metadata
207
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
3
132 / 207 (63.8%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 75 / 207 (36.2%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
46 / 207 (22.2%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 46 / 132 (34.8%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 30 / 174 (17.2%).
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