‘It depends entirely on the nature of those supports’: Community perceptions of the appropriateness of early support services for autistic children

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Sulek, R., Edwards, C., Monk, R., Patrick, L., Pillar, S., Whitehouse, A., & Waddington, H. (2024). ‘It depends entirely on the nature of those supports’: Community perceptions of the appropriateness of early support services for autistic children. Autism, 29(5), 1275-1284. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241302372

Publication date: 4 Dec 2024 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
7
Publication authors identified as autistic
3 / 7 (42.9%)
  1. Rhylee Sulek
  2. Chris Edwards *
  3. Ruth Monk *
  4. Lee Patrick *
  1. Sarah Pillar
  2. Andrew Whitehouse
  3. Hannah Waddington

Abstract

Autistic advocates emphasise the need for neurodiversity-affirming and strengths-based approaches to support services; however, little is known about broader community perspectives regarding the appropriateness of offering early support services to autistic children. This co-designed mixed-methods study employed surveys to gather insights from 253 participants in Australia and New Zealand, including autistic adults, parents, and professionals. Participants shared views on the appropriateness of early support services for autistic children. About half of participants indicated that it was appropriate to provide early support services, while the other half indicated that it depended on the nature of those support services. Reflexive thematic analysis resulted in three overarching themes which explain these views. 'They are children first, after all' emphasises the importance of preserving childhood experiences and involving children in decision-making. 'We shouldn't be aiming to fix the child' underscores the need for support services to align with neurodiversity-affirming approaches. Finally, 'Supports are beneficial' highlights the perceived positive impact that early, individualised support services can provide for autistic children. These findings predominantly signal a shift away from medicalised models towards a neurodiversity-affirming approach across participant groups.Lay abstractWe do not know much about what support services people think are okay for young autistic children. This study was a survey of 253 people. We asked autistic adults, parents, and professionals from Australia and New Zealand whether they thought it was okay to provide support services to autistic children. About half the people who shared their thoughts said it was okay to provide support services to autistic children and the other half said it depended on what the support service was like. They had three main ideas about whether support services were okay or not. The first one is that we should remember that these autistic children are children first, so we need to keep their childhood experiences in mind and let them have a say in decisions. The second is that we should not try to 'fix' the child, but instead, use supports that respect and understand the unique ways the child thinks. The final idea is that early, personalised help is good for autistic children and can make a positive difference in their lives. This study suggests that we should focus on what each child needs, think about how children can join in, and provide help in ways that respect autistic children.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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

Bibliography inclusion overview

These indicators describe the cited bibliography imported for this publication. Cited-reference metrics use the cited-reference total as denominator. Cited-author metrics state whether they use all cited-author occurrences or only occurrences linked to authors already integrated in the AutiHub database. They use cached links between cited authors and authors integrated in the AutiHub database. Last computed: 16 Aug 2026 11:30.

Cited references
38
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
14 / 38 (36.8%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
20 / 139 (14.4%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 20 / 94 (21.3%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 12 / 107 (11.2%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
94 / 139 (67.6%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 62 / 107 (57.9%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
74 / 94 (78.7%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 74 / 139 (53.2%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 50 / 62 (80.6%).
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