What do nurses think they are doing in pre-school autism assessment?

This study reports on the perspective of all the specialist nurses in community paediatric teams in one NHS trust on their role in pre-school autism assessment. Kim's critical reflective inquiry research method (Kim, 1999) was adapted through the inclusion of the researcher as a participant. Participants reflected on the nursing beliefs and values they hold in common, and on their actions in practice. The study found that the beliefs and values held by these nurses, and their intention to offer holistic nursing delivered through a professional relationship of care, correlated with the kind of care that parents have said families need, and make a unique contribution to team assessment.