Barriers and facilitators of healthcare access for autistic children in the UK: a survey of parents and healthcare professionals

Purpose: Access to healthcare services for autistic children remains a significant challenge with barriers affecting autistic children, parents and healthcare practitioners. This study investigates the difficulties by examining the perspectives of parents and Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) on healthcare access for autistic children in the UK. It builds on a previously published systematic review (Babalola et al., 2024) and uses the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to identify key barriers, facilitators and potential solutions in primary care settings, specifically General Practitioner (GP), dental and Accident and Emergency (A&E). Methods: Two online surveys were conducted targeting healthcare practitioners and parents of autistic children, exploring facilitators, interventions and strategies to improve healthcare access. In total, 43 parents and 41 HCPs participated. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, independent t-tests and correlation analyses were used to compare responses and identify key patterns. Results: Findings indicated that autistic children faced many healthcare access barriers related to limited autism-specific knowledge among HCPs, reasonable adjustments, sensory sensitivities, communication challenges, and system level barriers. HCPs acknowledged systemic limitations, including high workloads and insufficient resources. Discrepancies were observed between parental and HCP perspectives. Conclusions: The study highlights the urgent need for systemic improvement to healthcare access for autistic children. Improved autism training for healthcare professionals, structured pre-appointment communication, and sensory friendly environments are crucial steps to equity of care. Given the complexity and diversity of autistic children’s needs, a flexible and individualised approach is needed to address healthcare inequality in this group.