Fathers’ Orientation to their Children’s Autism Diagnosis: A Grounded Theory Study

Authors

Michael Hannon, Montclair State UniversityFollow
La Chan V. Hannon, The College of New Jersey

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-1-2017

Journal / Book Title

Journal of Austism and Developemental Disorders

Abstract

Sixteen fathers of individuals with autism were interviewed to develop a grounded theory explaining how they learned about their children’s autism diagnosis. Results suggest the orientation process entails at least two phases: orienting oneself and orienting others. The orienting oneself phase entailed fathers having suspicion of developmental differences, engaging in research and education activities, having their children formally evaluated; inquiring about their children’s prognosis, and having curiosities about autism’s etiology. The orienting others phase entailed orientating family members and orienting members of their broader communities. Recommendations for responsive service provision, support for fathers, and future research are offered.

DOI

10.1007/s10803-017-3149-6

Montclair State University Digital Commons Citation

Hannon, Michael and Hannon, La Chan V., "Fathers’ Orientation to their Children’s Autism Diagnosis: A Grounded Theory Study" (2017). Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works. 31.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/counseling-facpubs/31

Published Citation

Hannon, M. D., & Hannon, L. V. (2017). Fathers’ orientation to their children’s autism diagnosis: A grounded theory study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(7), 2265-2274.