This is an account of a phenomenological investigation, employing ‘Lifeworld’ as the methodology. The study describes how six parents experienced the process of their children being ‘diagnosed’ as having autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and identifies factors which contributed to these experiences. The investigation arose out of the researcher’s engagement with parents who appeared to be challenging the professional preoccupation that early diagnosis and assessment of autism is central to effective family support. Interviews were conducted with three sets of parents over a period of one year with the researcher seeking to understand how the diagnostic process impacted upon all the ‘fractions’ of the lifeworld. The findings suggest that ‘intervention’ and ‘normalisation’ continue to be the dominant professional discourse but that parents find ways of rejecting and subverting these. Professional intervention, although intended to enable and empower parents was, in fact, experienced, by the parents in this study, as disabling and disempowering. It is proposed here that this was the result of professional practice being predicated on individual model principles, focused on changing the child and the family. The evidence from this study indicates that parents of children with ASDs have a more balanced experience of parenting than the traditionally negative focus of autism research would suggest. Parenting is made problematic not so much by children’s impairments but by encountering exclusionist professional practices. Guidelines are proposed for how professionals might begin to offer more effective support to parents by engaging with a social model agenda focused on celebrating achievement and enabling aspirations. ‘Lifeworld’ is evaluated as a methodology ideally suited to emancipatory research and as a means of enabling non-disabled researchers to offer valid contributions to the disability movement.

The main aim of this study was to explore the difficulties and limitations preventing social workers from empowering siblings of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children. Specific attention was given to social workers in the London Borough of Greenwich, United Kingdom and siblings who were in their middle childhood phase of development. Qualitative, applied research of an explorative and descriptive nature was followed. For the purpose of this study, the researcher conducted unstructured in-depth interviews with social workers and the siblings. Six social workers and four siblings were interviewed for this research study. Themes and categories were developed out of data from the unstructured interviews to which the researcher compared and verified it with already existing literature. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations were made from this research study. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

The main aim of this study was to explore the difficulties and limitations preventing social workers from empowering siblings of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children. Specific attention was given to social workers in the London Borough of Greenwich, United Kingdom and siblings who were in their middle childhood phase of development. Qualitative, applied research of an explorative and descriptive nature was followed. For the purpose of this study, the researcher conducted unstructured in-depth interviews with social workers and the siblings. Six social workers and four siblings were interviewed for this research study. Themes and categories were developed out of data from the unstructured interviews to which the researcher compared and verified it with already existing literature. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations were made from this research study. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

This thesis presents a 31-day case study carried out with a 15 year old young man who has classical autism. The study involved introducing him to a number of new and challenging activities, in a variety of contexts, over 31 days, that were previously assumed to be outside of his range of capability. The case study found that the application of the concepts of choice, control, challenge and risk had an unexpectedly positive impact upon the young man’s performance. This study further attempts to explore the concept of narrative as a ‘pedagogical bridge’ between the ‘worlds’ of autism and neurotypicality, arguing that narrative may provide a ‘way in’ to the world of autism. ‘Narrative’, this study contends, may provide a tapestry across which the world of autism may be connected with the world that surrounds it; by revealing a multiplicity of selves in a multiplicity of contexts. Methods of data collection included field notes, interviews, photographs and film footage. Ultimately, the study found that the use of ‘performance texts’ (DVDs featuring the young man’s achievements) constituted a powerful means of celebrating his accomplishments within the school and its wider community. Research approaches were participatory and ethnographic in the data collection phases, while a more phenomenological approach was adopted in the data analysis phase. The overarching analytical framework was that of ‘narrative analysis’ in telling a story of bravery, courage, hope and optimism.