Table 1.
Parent and child characteristics (n = 34).
| Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent data | Age (years) | Mean (SD) | 42.12 (6.81) |
| Range | 27–55 | ||
| Gender | Male | 2 (5.9%) | |
| Female | 30 (88.2%) | ||
| Non-binary | 2 (5.9%) | ||
| Autism diagnosis | Yes | 27 (79.4%) | |
| No, I self-identify as autistic | 7 (20.6%) | ||
| Ethnicity | White (including British, Irish or any other White background) | 32 (94.1%) | |
| Mixed (e.g. White and Black Caribbean/African, White and Asian or any other Mixed background) | 1 (2.9%) | ||
| Prefer not to say | 1 (2.9%) | ||
| Number of children in household | Mean (SD) | 2.34 (1.19) | |
| Range | 1 to 7+ | ||
| Number of autistic children | 1 | 20 (58.8%) | |
| 2 | 11 (32.4%) | ||
| 3 | 3 (8.8%) | ||
| Child data | Gender | Male | 21 (61.8%) |
| Female | 11 (32.4%) | ||
| Other gender | 2 (5.9%) | ||
| Age at diagnosis (in years) | Mean (SD) | 8.26 (3.74) | |
| Range | 2–16 | ||
| Age at time of study (in years) | Mean (SD) | 11.53 (3.87) | |
| Range | 3–18 | ||
| Diagnosis | Autism | 7 (20.6%) | |
| Autism spectrum disorder/condition | 17 (50.0%) | ||
| Asperger’s syndrome/disorder/high-functioning autism | 6 (17.6%) | ||
| Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) | 1 (2.9%) | ||
| Self-identified | 3 (8.8%) | ||
| Other diagnoses | None | 12 (35.3%) | |
| Physical disability | 6 (17.7%) | ||
| Behavioural condition | 5 (14.7%) | ||
| Affective condition | 11 (32.4%) | ||
| Learning disability | 4 (11.8%) | ||
| Other | 6 (17.7%) | ||
| Parent-reported language | Language use is completely typical | 15 (44.1%) | |
| Difficulties mainly with ‘pragmatic’ (i.e., social) language | 18 (52.9%) | ||
| Little or no spoken language | 1 (2.9%) | ||
| Education | Mainstream | 27 (79.4%) | |
| Special school/unit | 3 (8.8%) | ||
| Not applicable/other | 4 (11.8%) | ||
SD: standard deviation.