Abstract
Despite research that has documented the types of services that are being used by parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), researchers have yet to determine how intervention-related knowledge spreads to parents. In the current study, we sought to clarify the impact of parent social networks on intervention use in 244 parents of a child with ASD by examining the following: (a) Do social-network variables predict the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) or non-EBPs? (b) Do social-network variables predict parent satisfaction with service use? and (c) Who are the referral sources of EBPs and non-EBPs? Results indicated that social-network variables predict parents’ EBP use and non-EBP use beyond income, education, and child ASD symptom severity. In addition, recommendations to EBPs and non-EBPs came from distinct referral sources. The results have implications for both the active provision of basic social-network support and psychoeducation at the onset of ASD diagnosis and the use of social networks to more effectively disseminate best-practice information on a larger scale.
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