1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The aim of this article is to analyse the help-seeking process undertaken by parents [of children on the autism spectrum] from the earliest stages of concern for their child’s development.» (p. 41)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The data collection was conducted as part of a larger research project on the evolution of networks and money exchanges within families of children on the autism spectrum.» (p. 43) «The families were recruited in two ways. First, ten families were recruited from a name bank compiled during a previous study in which the parents had not been able to participate. Eight of the ten parents invited by email participated in the present study, while two declined due to lack of time. Second, a call for participation in the study was posted on three online parent groups and passed on by parents through social media (Facebook). Seven families were reached in this way.» (p. 43) The families lived in Québec.

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

According to the results, «[f]our common constitutive phases of the trajectories were identified, their pace and duration being modulated by events, relationships and social or individual-specific factors (e.g. other concomitant diagnoses for the children, prior conceptions and knowledge of autism, geographical distance from major urban centres or their loved ones). (p. 49-50) Also, «each of the trajectories studied manifested a specific family history, involving a variety of actors and marked by different life course events. […] However, the same events, ‘both large and small’, whether biographical or related to macrosocial events, influenced the trajectories under study. For example, many families’ journeys were marked by a change in employment or the development of a health problem for the parents […]. In several families, variations in the support network showed a weakening of ties with family and friends (especially in the period around the diagnosis) and creation of new ties (with professionals and workers in the formal network, of course, but also with people in the associational sphere).» (p. 50)