Is my child autistic? First encounters between parents and healthcare professionals in the Republic of Ireland

Objectives Despite international variation in autism assessment pathways, research consistently indicates parents must often navigate complicated systems and services, and consequently advocate strongly when attempting to access an autism assessment for their child. Parents generally seek advice from healthcare professionals when concerns initially arise about their child’s development. This first encounter can influence the trajectory of the assessment and diagnostic process, with research suggesting parental concerns are often dismissed or minimised by healthcare professionals. No research to date has focused specifically on parents’ initial interactions with healthcare professionals and the impact of those interactions on their child’s autism assessment journey. This study explored parents’ early awareness of their child’s developmental differences and their initial encounters with healthcare professionals.Methods Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of autistic children in the Republic of Ireland.Results Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Three key themes were identified which related to factors facilitating and inhibiting parental awareness, the varying nature of parents’ first encounters with healthcare professionals, and the complexities of the journey to an autism assessment following those encounters.Conclusion Findings support the importance of healthcare professionals remaining responsive to parents’ observations of their child’s developmental differences, the need for greater recognition and understanding of autism amongst healthcare professionals, and for clearer autism assessment pathways.