Community perspectives on the appropriateness and importance of support goals for young autistic children

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. two authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Metadata sources used for this reference

OpenAlex Crossref OpenCitations
Learn more about the sources used

Waddington, H., Minnell, H., Patrick, L., van der Meer, L., Monk, R., Woods, L., & Whitehouse, A. (2023). Community perspectives on the appropriateness and importance of support goals for young autistic children. Autism, 28(2), 316-326. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231168920

Publication date: 18 May 2023 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
7
Publication authors identified as autistic
2 / 7 (28.6%)
  1. Hannah Waddington
  2. Hannah Minnell
  3. Lee Patrick *
  4. Larah van der Meer
  1. Ruth Monk *
  2. Lisa Woods
  3. Andrew Whitehouse

Abstract

There is little research regarding autistic adult, parent and professional perspectives on support goals for young autistic children. A total of 87 autistic adults, 159 parents of autistic children, and 80 clinical professionals living in New Zealand and Australia completed a survey about the appropriateness and importance of common support goals for young autistic children. Goals related to the adult supporting the child, the reduction and replacement of harmful behaviours, and improving child quality of life were the highest priority across participant groups, while goals related to child autism characteristics, play and academic skills were the lowest priority. Compared to parents and/or professionals, autistic adults gave lower priority ratings for play skills, autism characteristics and participation goals and were more likely to rate these goal domains as inappropriate. More research is needed to understand the underlying reasons for these similarities and differences. Lay abstract Researchers do not know much about what autistic adults, parents and professionals think about support goals for young autistic children. People’s views of support goals might also be influenced by their beliefs about early support more generally. This survey involved 87 autistic adults, 159 parents of autistic children and 80 clinical professionals living in New Zealand and Australia. We asked participants questions about themselves and what they thought about early support for young autistic children in general. We then asked participants to rate whether different support goals were appropriate for young autistic children and, if they were appropriate, to rate their level of priority. We found that autistic adults, parents and professionals all rated goals about the adult changing to better support the child, reducing and replacing harmful behaviours and improving the child’s quality of life as the highest priorities. They all rated goals about autism characteristics, play skills and academic skills as the lowest priorities. Compared to parents and/or professionals, autistic adults gave lower priority ratings for play skills, autism characteristics and participation goals. Autistic adults were also more likely to rate goals related to play skills and autism characteristics as inappropriate. While these three participant groups generally agreed on the order of priority of early support goals for young autistic children, autistic adults found goals related to autism characteristics, play and/or participation to be an even lower priority and less appropriate than parents and professionals.

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: 2 Oct 2026 14:02.

Cited references
33
With a DOI
24
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
8
12 / 33 (36.4%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
3 / 33 (9.1%)
References with detected author names
31 / 33 (93.9%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
3
Without a stable identifier
7
References with raw author names still to review
2
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
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
94
From DOI or external metadata
94
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
2
57 / 94 (60.6%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 37 / 94 (39.4%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
17 / 94 (18.1%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 17 / 57 (29.8%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 13 / 85 (15.3%).
  1. Carmen R. Wilson Van Voorhis , Betsy L. Morgan (2007). Understanding Power and Rules of Thumb for Determining Sample Sizes . Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 3(2), 43-50. The Quantitative Methods for Psychology.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.20982/tqmp.03.2.p043 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W112288907
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  2. González Moreno, Andrés Santiago (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . American Psychiatric Association.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4247665917
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  3. Amy Pearson * , Jon Rees (2020). ‘Masking is Life’: Experiences of Masking in Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults . Autism in Adulthood, 00(00), 1. Center for Open Science.
    Type: Preprint DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/t6vp2 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4205436652
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  4. Sylvia Rodger , Michelle Braithwaite , Deb Keen (2004). Early Intervention for Children with Autism: Parental Priorities . Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 29(3), 34-41. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/183693910402900306 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W204036318
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  5. Autistic Self Advocacy Network. (2021). For whose benefit? Evidence, ethics, and effectiveness of autism interventions. https://autisticadvocacy.org/policy/briefs/intervention-ethics/
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  7. Helen Penn (2000). Early childhood services: theory, policy and practice .
    Type: Book OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W585121343
    OpenAlex
  9. Carr M. (2008). Early childhood services: Theory, policy and practice . Early childhood services: Theory, policy and practice, 53.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  11. Patricia Howlin (2011). Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism: Promoting Language, Learning, and Engagement . Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 16(2), 128-128. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-3588.2011.00603_2.x OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2002003773
    OpenAlex
  12. Cormack D. (2010). Classification and output of multiple ethnicities: Considerations for monitoring Māori health . Classification and output of multiple ethnicities: Considerations for monitoring Māori health.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  13. Kim M Jonkman , Elisa Back , Sander Begeer (2023). Predicting intervention use in autistic children: Demographic and autism-specific characteristics . Autism, 27(2), 428-442. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/13623613221102748 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4282587537
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  14. George L. Engel (1979). The biopsychosocial model and the education of health professionals . General Hospital Psychiatry, 1(2), 156-165. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/0163-8343(79)90062-8 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2014171509
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  15. Géraldine Dawson , Lauren Franz , Sam Brandsen * (2022). At a Crossroads—Reconsidering the Goals of Autism Early Behavioral Intervention From a Neurodiversity Perspective . JAMA Pediatrics, 176(9), 839. American Medical Association (AMA).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.2299 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4285024688
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  16. Steven K. Kapp * , Kristen Gillespie-Lynch , Lauren E. Sherman , Ted Hutman (2013). Deficit, difference, or both? Autism and neurodiversity. Developmental Psychology, 49(1), 59-71. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1037/a0028353 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2124715426
    AutiHub · Autistic Autism Scholarship Project Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  17. Keenan A. Pituch , Vanessa A. Green , Robert Didden , Russell Lang , Mark F. O’Reilly , Giulio E. Lancioni et al. (2011). Parent reported treatment priorities for children with autism spectrum disorders . Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5(1), 135-143. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2010.03.003 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2014938646
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  19. Tim Rochford (2004). Whare Tapa Wha: A Mäori Model of a Unified Theory of Health . Journal of Primary Prevention, 25(1), 41-57. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1023/b:jopp.0000039938.39574.9e OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2036702879
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  20. Mehdi Ghanadzade , Mitzi Waltz , Tehnaz Ragi (2018). The intervention priorities of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders in Iran . Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 55, 14-24. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2018.08.002 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2888049013
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  21. Lorcan Kenny , Caroline Hattersley , Bonnie Molins , Carole Buckley , Carol Povey , Elizabeth Pellicano (2016). Which terms should be used to describe autism? Perspectives from the UK autism community . Autism, 20(4), 442-462. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361315588200 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2227393071
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  23. Justin B. Leaf , Joseph H. Cihon , Ronald Leaf , John McEachin , Nicholas Liu , Noah Russell et al. (2022). Concerns About ABA-Based Intervention: An Evaluation and Recommendations . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52(6), 2838-2853. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05137-y OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3167081998
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  27. Monk R. (2022). bibr18-13623613231168920 Trends in Neurosciences, 4, 5791.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  28. Mullen E.M. (1995). Mullen scales of early learning . Mullen scales of early learning.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  29. Sharon Bradley-Johnson (1997). Mullen Scales of Early Learning . Psychology in the Schools, 34(4), 379-382. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1520-6807(199710)34:4 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2037716870
    OpenAlex
  30. Sally J. Rogers , Géraldine Dawson (2009). Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism: Promoting Language, Learning, and Engagement .
    Type: Book OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W1510017934
    Crossref
  32. Sparrow S. S. (2016). Vineland-3: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales . Vineland‐3: Vineland adaptive behavior scales.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  33. World Health Organization. (2001). International classification of functioning, disability and health: ICF. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/4240
    Type: Other
    Crossref