Parents' Consultation Patterns Before Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis: A Social Network Analysis

Purpose: Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) supports timely intervention, yet little is known about parents' consultation patterns before diagnosis. This study examined these patterns according to the diagnostic period.Methods: This cross-sectional secondary analysis used social network analysis (SNA) to compare consultation networks by diagnostic period among 59 parents of children aged 7 years or younger with ASD. The diagnostic period was defined as the interval from the parents' first recognition of developmental concerns to the ASD diagnosis and was categorized as ≤4 months or >4 months. Parents identified up to five professional institutions they had consulted before the diagnosis and reported their consultation frequency. Parent-institution two-mode data were transformed into one-mode institution networks.Results: The shorter diagnostic-period group showed a smaller and more focused consultation pattern, whereas the longer diagnostic-period group showed more links and greater inclusiveness. Pediatric clinics were central in both groups, and regular daycare centers had the highest betweenness centrality in the shorter group.Conclusion: These findings suggest that daycare settings are potential sites for the future evaluation of structured screening and referral-guidance strategies involving nurses, therapists, and other early screening personnel.