The stories of parents whose children have been referred for an assessment for Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A narrative analysis

There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of parental voice in education, and specifically within the realm of Special Educational Needs (SEN). For parents whose children have been identified as potentially having Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), their story may have begun long before there is professional involvement. There appears to be a dearth of qualitative research into parental experiences prior to their child’s ASD assessment. Therefore, this research explored the narratives of two parents whose children had been referred for an ASD assessment. Within a social constructivist, relativist paradigm, narratives were collected through in-depth interviews that enabled a detailed inductive analysis of each of the unique stories. Findings are discussed in relation to the analysis and related theory, research and policy. The limitations of this research and implications for future projects and Educational Psychology (EP) practice are also discussed, including how reflection on issues of power, hermeneutics, ontology and epistemology may be pertinent to EP practice.