| Child custody arrangements following parental divorce have a profound impact upon the well-being of the children involved, and child custody evaluators play a vital role in the determination of such arrangements. In general, the practice and recommendations of custody evaluators are directed by state guidelines and scientific literature; however, guiding principals to direct clinicians when evaluating custody cases involving children with special needs are lacking. Based upon a review of literature, it is theorized that custody determinations can become complicated when a child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder is involved, and conversely, that custody arrangements can exacerbate symptoms of autism.;To examine current practices and opinions related to the reciprocal relationship between child custody and autism, custody evaluators throughout the United States were surveyed. Factors examined included demographic information, professional history and experience, opinions related to general custody cases and those cases involving children with autism, custody evaluation procedures, and factors relevant to making custody determinations. One hundred and sixty-four participants responded to the survey, and valuable information was gleaned.;Three research hypotheses posited that custody evaluators who had encountered a high number of cases related to autism would respond in a different fashion when compared to those evaluators with a low level of experience with such cases. Although the hypotheses were not supported by the data, it was clear that evaluators, regardless of experience with autism, recognized the important relationship between the developmental disorder and child custody practices and recommendations. Despite acknowledgement of this critical interaction, only a small minority of respondents reported training experiences related specifically to custody and autism.;The present study also examined factors weighed in custody decisions in both general cases and cases involving children with autism. Certain factors, such as child/parent relationship, general parenting ability, and mental health of parent, are considered to be most important for all cases. Factors determined to be of greater consequence in autism-related cases included consistency of child's daily schedule and adjustment to current environment. Additionally, rich qualitative data was generated through open-ended questions in which participants were asked to share experiences, opinions, and suggestions. |
