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“In Medical School, You Get Far More Training on Medical Stuff than Developmental Stuff”: Perspectives on ASD from Ontario Physicians

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Abstract

This study investigated the knowledge and perceived competence of Ontario physicians regarding the diagnosis and treatment of ASDs. Previous research demonstrates that many physicians would like more education regarding diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Twenty-seven Ontario physicians filled out a questionnaire and participated in a semi-structured interview. Findings revealed that despite participants’ high perceived knowledge regarding diagnosis and treatment of ASDs, they feel uncomfortable in providing care for this population. Furthermore, many participants stated diagnosing and treating ASDs is not within their scope of practice. Findings have implications for increasing physicians’ knowledge of diagnosis and treatment of ASDs as well as what is required to enhance healthcare for individuals with ASDs and their families.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Golnaz Ghaderi

  2. Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada

    Shelley L. Watson

Authors
  1. Golnaz Ghaderi
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  2. Shelley L. Watson
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Contributions

GG conceived of the study, participated in its design, coordination, recruitment of participants, data entry and statistical analyses, interpretation of data and drafted the manuscript; SW participated in the design and interpretation of the data, helped with drafting the manuscript, reviewing the manuscript, and general supervision of the research study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Golnaz Ghaderi.

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Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Research Ethics Boards at Laurentian University, Ontario, Canada, which is in accordance with the Canadian Tri-Council Recommendations for Research with Human Participants.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ghaderi, G., Watson, S.L. “In Medical School, You Get Far More Training on Medical Stuff than Developmental Stuff”: Perspectives on ASD from Ontario Physicians. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 683–691 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3742-3

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