Common approaches to intervention for the support and education of children with autism in the UK: an internet-based parent survey

There is a distinct lack of research identifying the interventions used by parents for the support and education of children with autism in the UK. This internet-based survey is the first to report exclusively on data from a UK sample of 160 parents. We sought to identify and describe the interventions used currently and in the past, and explored associations between parent and child characteristics and interventions used. We found that visual schedules, speech and language therapy, and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) were currently most in use, and that the majority of parents reported using more than one intervention concurrently. Younger children were more likely to be currently using at least one intervention, and current use of ABA was found to be associated with higher parental educational level. The findings highlight the need for further research into the factors that underlie decision-making in respect to interventions used.