Parent Perceptions About Autism Spectrum Disorder Influence Treatment Choices

Abstract

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) must identify, select, and even implement treatments. Child age, cognitive functioning, ASD symptoms, family income, parent education, and cultural background, all may influence treatment selection. Parents’ perceptions about ASD also may contribute. We explored whether parents’ perceptions of ASD, along with family- and child-specific characteristics, predicted use of various ASD treatment categories. Sixty-eight families from the Simons Simplex Collection completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). Logistic regression results indicated that when parent perceptions predicted use of a treatment category, relative contribution of perceptions was somewhat stronger than child- and family-specific factors (i.e., demographics, functioning). Moreover, predictive factors differed between treatment categories. Overall, treatment category use was influenced by parents’ perceptions of control over ASD treatment, behaviors perceived to be related to ASD, and beliefs about chronicity of the diagnosis. These findings may contribute to broader understanding of parents’ ASD treatment selection and enhance professionals’ ability to guide families’ decision-making.