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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects children and their families. We investigated the family environment of children with ASD in Brazil. Twenty-one families participated. Outcome measures administered to parents included the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Questionnaire on Resources and Stress-Short Form, and the Family Environment Scale. All families reported a number of difficulties, including social interactions and peer relationships, stress levels, and communication difficulties. Families also reported great concern for their child's future. Brazil is a developing country, yet there are few national resources and studies related to ASD. The challenges continue from diagnosis through treatment. Our results emphasize the need to understand the family environment of children with autism and their parents' apprehensions to develop effective coping programs., Author(s): Tatiana M. N. Flenik [sup.1] , Tiago S. Bara [sup.1] [sup.2] , Mara L. Cordeiro [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) Faculdades Pequeno Príncipe, , Curitiba, Brazil (2) grid.517863.e, [...]

Services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families have evolved with the advent of the Medicaid waiver, leading to more family-based coordination of care. Evaluating family involvement, the current investigation compared 230 families of children with ASD receiving Medicaid waiver services to a propensity-score matched group of 230 families who were waiting for such services (i.e., registry families). Compared to the registry, waiver families reported more involvement in service planning tasks, but not activities related to future-planning, managing crisis situations, or searching for and securing funding. Additional analyses characterize waiver families as engaging in high levels of coordinating and delivering behavioral interventions for their child. Implications for family burden and future programming for waiver programs are discussed., Author(s): Gregory S. Chasson [sup.1] , Karen Goldrich Eskow [sup.2] , Jean Ann Summers [sup.3] , Taylor M. Dreher [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.62813.3e, 0000 0004 1936 7806, Department of [...]