Active Duty Military Families with Children with Autism and Their Expriences Recieving Support: A Qualitative Case Study

Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to examine the experiences of mobile Active Duty Military Spouses (ADMS) of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to document the types of school support they are getting and what further school services the children may need to succeed socially and academically. Using a multiple case study with triangulation, data were collected from a pre-interview survey that listed the exclusion criteria, a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and reflective timeline/essay. Data were analyzed using NVivo® 12. Cases were created in NVivo® 12 to develop units of observation, grouping, and comparison. The exploration led to discovering the three dominate themes including (a) academic success, (b) social success and (c) EFMP success. Through the nature of the in-depth case study investigation, various alleged and expected themes were revealed by the participants. The results of this study implied that ASD military dependents are one of the most underserved population and do not receive the appropriate services for their academic and social needs from schools or military programs. In the cases where the services and support are available, there are usually delays waiting for approval and accessing needed care or the quality of the intervention may be questionable. This study further showed there are not enough providers to meet the needs of military dependents diagnosed with ASD or provide continuity of care. Therefore, there is a growing need for the policymakers and the military services to give special consideration to this underserved military population. Recommendations for future research include enlarging the sample size, using civilian families who are highly mobile and following ADMFs for longer periods of time. With this information researchers could possibly create a blueprint of successful strategies for ASD families.