Diagnostic reports are a key outcome of autism assessment services. However,
there is limited evidence regarding what key stakeholders, including families,
want to see in reports. In this project, 30 parents whose young person had
recently received a diagnosis of autism from a Neurodevelopmental Assessment
Service in the North East of England took part in a telephone-based interview to
explore what they want from a report. Interviews were analysed using thematic
analysis. Ten key recommendations for reports were identified. Parents indicated
that they want a detailed, balanced, sensitively written report. They
highlighted that reports needed to be accessible and clearly structured. In this
respect, it might be helpful to include a parent-driven summary of key points at
the top, clear signposting of the structure of the report, and a description of
what happened in the assessment process. Parents also valued practical,
personalised recommendations based on the young person’s strengths and
difficulties. Future research might explore perspectives on reports in families
accessing other services, in other client groups (e.g., families of
pre-schoolers diagnosed with autism), and with different stakeholders, including
schools, referrers and autistic people.