Professionals Underestimate the Practical Support Needs of Autistic Parents: A Large Co-Designed Study of Autistic Adults and Professionals

Authors

Abstract

Although many autistic adults become parents, quantitative evidence on their parenting support needs remains lacking, and it is unknown whether professionals accurately recognize these needs. This study aimed to identify autistic parents' support needs and examine the extent to which they align with professionals' perceptions, to better inform professional training and support provision. Potential support needs were first characterized through a participatory process involving two autistic mothers active in major autism advocacy organizations. These needs were subsequently assessed using a co-designed questionnaire completed by 124 autistic adults and 977 professionals from healthcare, education, social, and judicial fields. The results showed that autistic adults reported significantly greater needs for practical and material support than those perceived by professionals, including in-home assistance, flexible working arrangements, administrative support, and peer mentoring. In contrast, professionals showed greater endorsement of child-protection-related interventions than autistic adults, although endorsement remained low overall. The findings suggest that the current support systems may not adequately address the everyday challenges faced by autistic parents. Greater autism-specific training for professionals and policies promoting more individualized and practical support provision may help improve the appropriateness of support provision and better align support systems with autistic parents’ expressed needs.

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