Madam, - I am conducting a national study in the area of autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) and more specifically, on parents' information needs, as part of a PhD in the School of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin.
Briefly, 38 parents (27 mothers and 11 fathers) of children with ASDs, aged between four and 14 years participated in a set of focus group interviews in 2005. Parents were asked to share their experiences immediately after the diagnosis of their child with an ASD and to identify the type of information they searched for both then and now.
For example, how important was it for them to have information on where they could arrange primary or secondary schooling? Were they satisfied with the amount of information they had received? Did they have a preference for how they would like to receive this information (eg one-to-one consultation, as a handout, or as a video)? Fifty-five information items were identified by these parents and developed into an information needs assessment questionnaire.
The final part of this project will use this questionnaire to examine whether other parents of children with ASDs across Ireland (both North and South) need similar information at different stages of their child's life. It is hoped that results from the overall study will help local and national service providers and voluntary organisations to offer parents of children with ASDs a more effective information service.
Therefore, I am looking for parents of children aged between four and 14 years to complete an anonymous survey. Please e-mail me at tmurphy3@tcd.ie or telephone 087-4119278 or 01-6083912 if you would like to participate or if you have any further questions. - Yours, etc,
TARA MURPHY,
School of Psychology,
Áras an Phiarsaigh,
Trinity College,
Dublin 2.