Family, Sibling, and Peer-Specific Priorities

• Relationships between autistic toddlers and non-autistic siblings
• Non-autistic siblings’ understanding of their autistic sibling’s needs and managing their own needs/role in the family (e.g., affirming the autistic child isn’t “more important” and their needs/preferences also matter)
• Family and community (e.g., aunts/uncles, grandparents, family friends) understanding of autism and the child’s unique needs
• Family and community understanding and acceptance of stimming, sensory needs, autistic play, and other common preferences for autistic people
• Knowledge about causes of autism
• Managing conflicting sensory or communication needs/preferences
• Family and community respect for and inclusion of autistic children
• Presuming competence in autistic children

Using Comparative Effectiveness Research:

• Compare caregiver- and whole-family coaching approaches on child developmental outcomes, child and family well-being, and other family outcomes

Supporting Evidence:

Autistic adults, their family members, clinicians, and researchers all prioritize future research that identifies supports for autistic individuals’ families (Pellicano, 2014).  This is of particular importance because parents of autistic children report challenges discussing their child’s diagnosis with extended family members, while acknowledging the family unit’s crucial supporting role (Coleman et al., 2023). Caregivers specifically emphasize the need for supports that address relationships between autistic children and their siblings, and family quality of life (Clark & Adams, 2020; Waddington et al., 2024). Researchers should continue to explore perspectives of sibling and family relationships across diverse communities, given cultural differences in family structure and caregiving expectations (Long et al., 2022). Researchers should also work with these community members to develop appropriate ways to measure family relationships throughout the lifespan, as measures intended for non-autistic families may not be appropriate or may privilege a narrow perspective of what a “positive relationship” looks like (Tillett et al., 2023).

• How can we provide the foundation for non-autistic children to learn to be more inclusive of their autistic peers, or understanding of their unique preferences for social interactions, communication, and play?
• How might encouraging the type of play preferred by autistic toddlers facilitate social interactions between autistic and non-autistic peers?
• How do we support connections between autistic children?
• How can we adapt the environment to support positive social interactions for autistic and non-autistic toddlers (“buddy systems,” sensory objects, different play options and expectations)?
• Peer understanding and acceptance of stimming

Supporting Evidence:

Peer interactions during early childhood are of utmost importance for children’s language, social-emotional, and cognitive development. However, existing research on autistic children’s peer interactions tends to explore this topic from a deficit-based perspective, using characteristics of neurotypical children’s play and interactions as the backdrop or comparison rather than centering the autistic child (Bauminger-Zviely & Shefer, 2021; Wolfberg & Schuler, 1999). Further, studies investigating peer-supports for autistic individuals are often focused on interactions in naturalistic settings for school-age children (i.e., school, after-school, and summer camp programs) with low support needs, rather than for toddlers (i.e., daycare, play groups, public play settings) with varying support needs (Watkins et al., 2015). Parents of autistic children report wanting more guidance on how to support their child’s social connections with peers, prioritizing their friendships and play (Clark & Adams, 2020; Im-Bolter & de la Roche, 2023; Pituch et al., 2011).

Up next:

Child-focused priorities

Caregiver-focused priorities

Systems-level priorities