| The diagnostic process for autism can be very dissatisfying for caregivers with many factors that contribute to this. The length of time a caregiver spends waiting for their child to be diagnosed with autism is standardly long, also leading to dissatisfaction with the diagnostic process. Additionally, barriers exist that make it even more difficult to seek out an evaluation, such as living in a rural area with few qualified clinicians and having limited financial means to pursue an evaluation. These barriers can compound the dissatisfaction felt by caregivers about the evaluation process. While these factors have been examined the extant literature on the topic is outdated, from outside of the United States, and does not analyze these factors simultaneously. This study addresses this literature gap by evaluating the relationship between caregiver satisfaction with the autism diagnostic process and the wait time and barriers faced by caregivers in the United States through two hierarchical multiple linear regressions. Findings suggested expected significant relationships between decreased caregiver satisfaction and increased difficulty finding a clinician as well as decreased reasonability of wait time. An interaction between reasonability of wait time and months on a wait list also showed a significant effect with caregiver satisfaction. Unexpectedly, more time since first noticing symptoms of autism was related to increased caregiver satisfaction. Implications, future directions, and limitations were discussed. |