Service Delivery Experiences and Intervention Needs of Military Families with Children with ASD.

Researchers sent a survey to 189 military spouses who have a child with autism. They asked how moves and deployments affected the child's therapy services.

The goal was to check if earlier small interviews held true for a bigger group.

Every time the family moved, therapy stopped or dropped in quality. Families said they had to start over with new providers and long waitlists.

These breaks happened again and again, not just once.

Perez et al. (2015) first heard the same story in a tiny interview study. The new survey shows the problem is wide, not just a few unlucky families.

Farley et al. (2022) later asked 25 caregivers about ABA only. They found the same waitlist trap, proving the trouble lasts at least six years.

Wallace-Watkin et al. (2023) looked at many underserved groups. Military families fit right in: access, choice, and stigma block services.

Kremkow et al. (2022) tested a fix—online peer mentors before a move. Early signs say the support helps, giving us something to try.

If you serve military kids, expect a full restart after every PCS. Build a handoff packet now: current goals, data sheets, and provider list. Offer telehealth sessions during the gap and link families to peer mentors. A smooth bridge keeps skills from sliding backward.