Collaborative Team work perspectives of ASD experts

The Core assignment 2 involved interviewing an ASD expert. The range of professionals selected to interview reflected the many different professionals working with children with ASD.

Whilst collating the information from the experts interviews it became clear that a child with ASD can be supported by multiple professionals from different disciplines.

Interviewees talked about both the strengths and limitations of working in large multi-disciplinary collaborative teams.

This assignment highlighted the uniqueness and complexity of teams supporting children with ASD, their families and their teachers. The need for such teams is a product of the highly complex nature of Autism Spectrum Disorder and the way it presents differently in each individual. This co-ordinated approach is recommended by the NZ ASD Guidelines:

A coordinated approach to planning and implementing services should be developed to meet the identified needs of an individual with ASD, including linkage or integration and coordination of multiple services. (Ministry of Health, 2008, p.21)

References Ministries of Health and Education. (2008). New Zealand autistic spectrum disorder guidelines. Wellington.