New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline - Ministry of Health

Part 2: Support for individuals, families and carers
In order for parent education programmes to be
effective, parents may first need support in other
areas, such as respite care, vocational training,
development of peer networks and counselling
to deal with their own emotional and mental
health issues 98 .
In summary, parent education should:
• be ongoing, for individual needs
change according to the child’s age and
circumstances
• take a variety of forms (eg, face-to-face,
distance, video and online)
Part 2
• take into consideration family needs, such as
work commitments and access to respite care
• include shared professional learning and
development with professionals in the field to
lead to a common understanding of needs
• take into consideration the needs of rural
families and whänau (ie, distance education)
• consider cultural issues such as differing
perceptions and management of disability
and the impact of ASD on children’s cultural
development
• where possible, be available in the language
of the participant family
• include services for siblings and other family
members 11 96 98 108 .
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New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline