Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: In this submission, five articles are presented examining one theme: diagnosis of autism\nspectrum disorders (ASD) in children. Three articles provides perspectives on various\nsocial and medical factors that influence the diagnosis of ASD, and the others examine\nsocial and behavioural outcomes for children diagnosed with ASD. One article provides an\nin depth examination of the dilemmas of diagnosis from a parental perspective.\nThe research utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods. A secondary analysis of a\nlongitudinal birth cohort study revealed that there were a number of children who had\nautistic traits equally severe as those with clinical diagnosis. Further analysis exposed a\npossible gender bias in diagnosis. Outcomes for children with ASD diagnoses were worse\nthan for those without diagnoses but with comparable behaviours as preschoolers. ASD\ndiagnosis apparently had no positive effect on the developmental trajectory of prosocial\nbehaviour. The implications of these results are discussed.\nAnalysis of qualitative data collected in semi-structured interviews with parents of both\ndiagnosed and undiagnosed children exposed dilemmas faced by parents as they\ncontemplated an ASD diagnosis and highlighted parental action to de-stigmatise the\ncondition after diagnosis had been applied.\nThe body of work as a whole falls at the junction of clinical and educational psychology,\ndevelopmental psychology, social psychology, social psychiatry, sociology and\nepidemiology. It draws attention to a number of social processes that contribute to ASD\ndiagnosis. Overall, it is argued, the work supports the conceptualisation of ASD as both a\nbiologically and socially determined condition.
Author: Ginny Russell
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W231411267