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Published on: December 7, 2018
Parent-reported Areas of Greatest Challenge for their ADHD and/or Autistic Children
Willow J Sainsbury1, Andrew J O Whitehouse2, Kelly D Carrasco3
1Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Objectives:
This study aimed to understand how parents describe the most challenging behaviors exhibited by their children diagnosed with autism and/or ADHD, how those behaviours impact their family, and whether challenges are directly related to the core characteristics of these conditions.
Methods:
A total of 258 New Zealand parents of children diagnosed with autism (n = 98), ADHD (n = 85), or both conditions (n = 75) answered an open-ended question about what child behaviour(s) provide the most challenge for their child/family's life. Responses were coded into 13 domains.
Results:
The areas of greatest challenge fitted with the core characteristics of the respective diagnoses, but the co-occurring group favoured greater challenges in the autism domain. Emotional dysregulation challenges were substantial across all three groups. A significant predictor of parents reporting challenges in the autism and internalising domain was a higher age.
Conclusions:
These results have the potential to inform more targeted supports for children and families by considering what is important to parents.
Supplementary Information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41252-024-00417-x.
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