Parent experiences of obtaining an autism diagnosis for their daughter: An interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Abstract

Autistic females are often diagnosed later than males and are also more likely to be misdiagnosed with other conditions. Co-occurring conditions may also be diagnosed at the time of the assessment but their autism diagnosis is missed. The majority of research examining the parent experience of obtaining an autism diagnosis for their child has included predominantly or exclusively male children in their samples. This study examines the experiences of parents in obtaining an autism diagnosis for their daughters in Australia through interview data which allowed for an exploration of their lived experiences. Several of the parents reported positive feelings of excitement or curiosity in relation to the assessment process which are emotions that have not been reported in earlier studies. While recent research advances have improved our understanding of gender differences in autistic behaviours, the findings of this study suggest that some practitioners have obsolete knowledge which may lead to misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis in some females. Although the extent that these experiences are representative of parents in the wider community is unknown, the fact that they are still being reported in the present day suggests that a proportion of health professionals continue to practice with outdated conceptualisations of autism.