IADR Abstract Archives
How Can We Improve Dental Services for Children with Autism?
Objectives: To gather dental experiences of UK parents of children with autism, highlight challenges the families face along with how the parents and the dental team try to overcome these challenges and explore how they feel primary care dental services can be improved.
Methods: Researchers were advised by parents of disabled children. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 parents of children aged between 5 and 13 years with a diagnosis or working diagnosis of autism; data were analysed thematically.
Results: Key themes identified were the flexibility of the dental team and environment, confidence of the parents to advocate for their children’s needs, continuity of services and clear referral pathways to specialist services. Cross-cutting all themes was the need for clear communication which influenced dental visit success. The experiences provide greater understanding of issues such as hyper-empathy, the focus of the dental chair, challenges of the waiting room, perceived medical authority and the importance of care before and after a visit. A conceptual model illuminating the linked nature of the key themes was created.
Conclusions: In line with previous research about the importance of family-centred care, a strong relationship between parents and the whole dental team, and the continuation of care extending beyond the dental examination, is essential to enable children with autism to access regular dental examinations. Suggestions include providing a system to alert the dental team to the needs of the family without the parent explaining at every visit, and adopting a flexible approach to meeting those needs. Parents need to be confident when advocating for their children. Clear communication and information sharing among members of the dental team and the family is key to improving access to primary care dental services for families of children with autism.
Methods: Researchers were advised by parents of disabled children. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 parents of children aged between 5 and 13 years with a diagnosis or working diagnosis of autism; data were analysed thematically.
Results: Key themes identified were the flexibility of the dental team and environment, confidence of the parents to advocate for their children’s needs, continuity of services and clear referral pathways to specialist services. Cross-cutting all themes was the need for clear communication which influenced dental visit success. The experiences provide greater understanding of issues such as hyper-empathy, the focus of the dental chair, challenges of the waiting room, perceived medical authority and the importance of care before and after a visit. A conceptual model illuminating the linked nature of the key themes was created.
Conclusions: In line with previous research about the importance of family-centred care, a strong relationship between parents and the whole dental team, and the continuation of care extending beyond the dental examination, is essential to enable children with autism to access regular dental examinations. Suggestions include providing a system to alert the dental team to the needs of the family without the parent explaining at every visit, and adopting a flexible approach to meeting those needs. Parents need to be confident when advocating for their children. Clear communication and information sharing among members of the dental team and the family is key to improving access to primary care dental services for families of children with autism.
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