An innovative and collaborative method to develop a model care and service trajectory for the assessment, diagnosis, and support of children with developmental disabilities.

This paper documents an innovative research approach undertaken to co-develop an integrated assessment, diagnosis, and support service trajectory for children suspected of having a developmental disability. It employed data-driven practices and involved multiple stakeholders such as parents, professionals, managers, and researchers. It emphasized the importance of incorporating experiential knowledge adopting an integrated care and service trajectory perspective, and using an implementation science framework. The first part of this article presents the theoretical roots and the collaborative method used to co-construct the model trajectory. The second part of this article presents the results of a survey in which participating stakeholders shared their point of view on the value and impact of this approach Overall, this article provides a step-by-step operationalization of participative research in the context of public health and social services. This may help guide future initiatives to improve services for developmental disabilities in partnership with those directly concerned by these services.

Acceptability and effects of acquiring an assistance or companion dog for families of children on the autism spectrum.

PURPOSE: Assistance and companion dogs have numerous positive effects for family of autistic children, such as supporting their rehabilitation and improving their quality of life. To date, very few studies have compared the effects of both types of dogs. This comparison, considering the limited access to assistance dogs, could be helpful for families wanting to adopt a dog. METHODS: An explanatory sequential design with a mixed-method approach was used. First, 85 parents (nassistance dogs = 57; ncompanion dogs = 28) of children aged between 3 and 17 years old (M = 10.73, SD = 3.67) completed an online questionnaire including sociodemographic questions and the Treatment Acceptability Rating Form-Revised (TARF-R). Then, 17 of these participants (nassistance dogs = 14; ncompanion dogs = 3) completed a semi-structured interview. RESULTS: The quantitative data analyses showed that parents with assistance dogs were significantly more satisfied: t (83) = -2.12, p = .037, d = 0.49. Significant associations between some sociodemographic variables (e.g., number of children, comorbid condition, reasons for acquiring a dog) and acceptability/satisfaction (TARF-R total scores) were found. The qualitative analysis revealed that families with both dog types observed positive effects. CONCLUSIONS: In brief, having an assistance dog constitutes a significant added value; nevertheless, both types of dogs are appreciated.

Parents of children on the autism spectrum show significantly higher levels of satisfaction with having an assistance dog to assist the rehabilitation of their child on the autism spectrum when compared to a companion dog.Assistance and companion dogs are both perceived as beneficial by parents and as an important source of support for the rehabilitation of children on the autism spectrum and other members of their family.Companion dogs trained specifically to assist the rehabilitation of children on the autism spectrum should be offered to families in the context of limited access to assistance dogs.

Parent coaching intervention program based on the Early Start Denver Model for children with autism spectrum disorder: Feasibility and acceptability study.

A parent coaching intervention program was launched in a Quebec community-based organization for autism spectrum disorder. This initiative was intended to support families following the child's diagnosis, as they awaited public early intensive behavioral intervention services. The parent-mediated intervention program, based on the Early Start Denver Model, included a 3 h parent group training, an initial assessment followed by the development of an individualized intervention plan, 8 weeks of live coaching, a final assessment to evaluate children's progress, and a feedback meeting with families. The present study used a mixed-method design to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the program. Ten families (ten mothers and three fathers) and four coaches participated in the present study. Parents and coaches perceived and achieved high levels of implementation overall (91 %) and there was a moderate improvement of parents' teaching skills. All participating families and coaches were satisfied or highly satisfied with the program and found it acceptable.

Development of a questionnaire to assess the quality of service trajectories in autism spectrum disorder from families' perspective.

BACKGROUND: ETAP-1 was created to evaluate the quality of services trajectory from families' perspective. The items of ETAP-1 were developed from previous studies on integrated care, existing quality assessments, and consultations with families and experts in evaluation and in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHOD: The questionnaire was completed by 200 parents of children aged 5 and under who were recently diagnosed with ASD or intellectual disability. Of these, 183 received diagnostic evaluation through a clinic specialized in ASD; the other 17 underwent diagnostic evaluation in hospital settings. RESULTS: Factor analysis supported the a priori dimensions of quality and distinctions between experiences before and during diagnostic evaluation. The instrument had high internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity with other measures and was sensitive to differences in service delivery models. DISCUSSION: ETAP-1 is useful in organizing information on families' experiences throughout their services trajectories and according to a dynamic perspective.