Assessing the diagnostic experiences of a small sample of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders.
Canadian families wait nearly 3 years and see 4+ professionals before an autism diagnosis — expect delays and plan parent support accordingly.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Siklos et al. (2007) asked 21 Canadian parents about their autism diagnosis journey.
Parents told how long they waited and how many doctors they saw.
The team used a simple survey to collect these stories.
What they found
Parents waited almost 3 years from first worry to final diagnosis.
They saw 4 or 5 different professionals along the way.
Every family described the same long, frustrating path.
How this fits with other research
Bejarano-Martín et al. (2020) later asked 14 EU countries and found the same delays still happen.
Wilson et al. (2023) showed these early delays lead to bigger service gaps when kids become teens.
Cage et al. (2024) and Gregory et al. (2020) revealed adults still face the same broken system decades later.
Together these studies show the 3-year wait Susan found in 2007 has not improved — it has simply moved upstream to affect teens and adults too.
Why it matters
When you meet a new autism family, expect they have already waited years. Build extra empathy into your intake. Ask about their diagnostic journey first. This simple question shows you understand their struggle before you start services.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although no Canadian studies have been conducted, studies suggest parents of children with autism experience difficulties obtaining a diagnosis for their child. Fifty-six parents of children with autism completed three questionnaires providing information on the families' demographics, parents' experiences throughout the diagnostic process, and their child's autistic symptomatology. These parents experienced significant difficulties obtaining a diagnosis for their child. Parents saw an average of 4.5 professionals, and waited almost 3 years to receive a diagnosis following their first visit to a professional regarding their child's development. The impact of autistic symptomatology on the diagnostic process is discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2007 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2005.09.003