Background Early intervention services adopting a family-centred approach are considered important for ensuring parent satisfaction. This study investigated the satisfaction of two mothers with an early intervention programme for young children with autistic spectrum disorder. Materials and Methods While 16 mother-child dyads participated in a larger study, two mothers who reported considerably lower satisfaction with the programme than the rest of the mothers were the focus of this paper. Using descriptive case studies, various child, parent and service delivery factors that may have influenced satisfaction are described. Results Child and parent factors that may have lessened satisfaction for these two mothers included the child's lack of improvement, child's goal performance postintervention, parenting stress and decreased parenting competence. Both mothers also had decreased perceptions of the family-centredness of the service and expressed difficulties with establishing collaborative partnerships. Conclusion This paper proposes that parental satisfaction may be influenced by numerous factors relating to the child, parent and service. Relationships with service providers appear to be particularly important.

This paper describes a process of assisting parents of young children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to identify and prioritise their goals for their c h i l d r e n ' s e a r l y i n t e r v e n t i o n. A mo d i f i e d v e r s i o n o f t h e Ca n a d i a n Oc c u p a t i o n a l Performance Measure (M-COPM) was used to facilitate this process. Twenty-two child-parent dyads involved in a home-based early intervention program participated in this study. Parents were able to identify and prioritise three to six early intervention goals for their children. Consistent with the core impairments of ASD, identified goals related to the domains of communication, behaviour, play and social interaction. The M-COPM was found to be a useful tool for enabling parents to identify goals for their children, when used and understood from a strong client and family-centred philosophical perspective. Pre-and postintervention parent ratings of goal performance and satisfaction are presented to demonstrate the use of the M-COPM as an outcome measure. Implications for practitioners in early childhood and special education settings, and areas for further research, are also discussed.

The acquisition of social communication skills is a major challenge faced by children with autism. This pilot study investigated the effects of the Stronger Families Project, a social-pragmatic intervention, on the communication and symbolic abilities of 16 children aged 2-4 years with autism. Standardized measures of the child's communication and symbolic behaviour were conducted by independent observers at a university clinic pre and post-intervention, and parents were interviewed to determine the impact of variables such as maternal stress and competence on the child's social communication. Changes in some communication and symbolic behaviours occurred following the Stronger Families Project intervention according to parent report. However, improvements based on ratings by independent observers were not significant. Results are discussed in relation to the assessment of changes in the social communication and symbolic play of children with autism following intervention using clinical observation and parent report.

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