Abstract

The following publication provides comment on two papers within the Australian context. McMinn, Schultz and Ludlow (2019) described the experiences of six mothers of children on the autism spectrum, living in the United Kingdom during the period in which their children transitioned from youth to adult services. The mothers perceived a lack of support during their child's transition and a lack of services available for their children, and reported the support of other parents with similar experiences as beneficial. Beadle-Brown and Roberts (2019) provided a commentary on McMinn et al. (2019) discussing the challenges for autistic individuals transitioning from childhood to adulthood and the lack of research examining the role and experiences of parent with transition-age or adult children, and provided an overview of challenges specific to the United Kingdom. They presented recommendations for moving forward, including listening to the perspective of family members (to which we would agree, and add that the voices of autistic individuals should also be heard).

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Citation

Flower, R. L., Sadka, N., Richdale, A., & Haschek, A. (2019). The Australian context: Commentary on ‘Mothers’ experiences of the transition of young people with autism spectrum disorder to adult care’ (McMinn, Schulz & Ludlow, 2019), and ‘Challenging the status quo: Commentary on Mothers’ experiences of the transition of young people with autism spectrum disorder to adult care’ (Beadle-Brown & Roberts, 2019).