59 Parental experiences with early identification and care 3 76, SD=15.35), meaning an average gap of 26 months between first concerns and an ASD diagnosis. The kind of initial concerns and alarm signals, as reported by parents, are entailed in Figure 1. Behavior concerns (for example tantrums, anxious behavior and/or selfdetermined behavior) were most frequently reported (62.2%), followed by concerns related to the child’s language development (44.4%). Overall, parents reported that they had visited a wide range (0-6) of different healthcare professionals before receiving an ASD diagnosis for their child. On average, parents visited two or three different healthcare professionals (for example a speech therapist, physiotherapist, pediatrician, child psychologist) before their child received an ASD diagnosis. Lastly, the severity of initial concerns regarding child development (as perceived by the respondent) amongst mothers, fathers and first line healthcare workers (preventive care physicians and general practitioners) was calculated. Overall, parents (M=3.64, SD=.89) seemed to report more severe initial concerns than first line healthcare workers (M=2.55, SD=1.10, t(41), p <.001). Specifically, there was a significant difference in the severity of concern by mothers (M=3.89, SD=.98) compared to the initial concern of fathers (M=3.27, SD=1.03), t(42), p=.001. *head banging, moaning Figure. 1. Overview of initial concerns, as reported by parents When asked how satisfied parents were with the trajectory from first concerns to receiving a diagnosis, parents reported a varied range of satisfaction (1-5, with 1 being not satisfied and 5 being very satisfied). Generally, the majority of parents reported to be either satisfied or very satisfied with the process from first concerns to diagnosis (55.6%). The average satisfactory
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