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Pilot Study of a Parent Guided Website Access Package for Early Intervention Decision-Making for Autism Spectrum Disorder*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2017

Sarah Carlon Open the ORCID record for Sarah Carlon [Opens in a new window] ,
Mark Carter  and
Jennifer Stephenson
Sarah Carlon*
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Australia
Mark Carter
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Australia
Jennifer Stephenson
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Australia
*
Correspondence: Sarah Carlon, Building X5A, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia. Email: sarah.carlon@mq.edu.au
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Abstract

A pilot study of the effectiveness of guided access to websites that provide information on intervention options for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was conducted with 12 parents of preschool-aged children with ASD. Guided access to reliable websites that included information about the efficacy of interventions for ASD (Raising Children Network, 2006–2014; Research Autism, 2006–2014) was provided in the format of a DVD presentation. The guidelines for choosing interventions provided on the Raising Children Network (2009) website were reiterated and assistance was provided with navigation and interpretation of the sites. Participants reported the guided access to reliable websites as useful and also reported an increased level of confidence in making intervention decisions after using the package. However, the guided access did not appear to influence the factors that parents considered important in decision-making, their understanding of the level of research support for interventions, nor their desire to use different interventions. Implications for future research and attempts to disseminate information to parents are discussed.

Keywords

ASDautismautism websitesevidence-based practiceinterventionparental decision-making
Type
Original Articles
Information
Australasian Journal of Special Education , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , December 2017 , pp. 141 - 156
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2017 

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Footnotes

*

This manuscript was accepted under the Editorship of Umesh Sharma.

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