[Experiences of families of autistic children during a period of lockdown: Exploratory study].

Objective: The lockdown periods associated with the Covid-19 pandemic are a particularly significant challenge for families of children with autism. Exchanges by e-mail and interviews were aimed at collecting testimonies from parents for a better understanding of their difficulties and the help provided by the mobilization of professionals.

Methods And Results: Eight parents of autistic children living in the Seine-Saint-Denis area agreed to testify about their experience, either in person, taking into account the barrier measures after the first lockdown, or by telephone during the second lockdown.

Lobbying by association: The case of autism and the controversy over packing therapy in France.

The controversy over packing therapy used in psychiatry was studied here to illustrate how leading associations can influence public health policies. The main French associations of parents with autistic children succeeded in obtaining the prohibition of packing, announced by the French Secretary of State to the Ministry of Health in April 2016. Parents and professionals who had observed the positive effects of packing when nothing else worked for their part wondered what could be done for self-harming patients.

Trajectories, Long-Term Outcomes and Family Experiences of 76 Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The aim of this retrospective study was to retrace the trajectories and long-term outcomes of individuals with autism in France, and to explore the family experiences. Data obtained from parents enables us to follow the trajectories of 76 adults. Two-thirds of adults with severe autism had a very poor outcome.

Changes in the diagnosis of autism: how parents and professionals act and react in France.

The category of autism has undergone huge changes over the past 20 years. This study was undertaken to analyze the changes and how parents have experienced the diagnostic process in France. Data were obtained from in-depth interviews with parents and psychiatrists, and from 248 questionnaires with open-ended questions filled in by parents.

The autism diagnostic experiences of French parents.

This survey focused on French parents' views of the diagnostic process relating to their child with autism. Data were collected on the age at diagnosis, the time taken to obtain a diagnosis and the difficulties encountered. Questionnaires filled in by the parents (n = 248) and in-depth interviews (n = 43) were analyzed in order to obtain quantitative and qualitative results.