Abstract:
Reveals an information seeking process used by the parents of autistic children. The researcher uses uncertainty reduction theory and theory of uncertainty management as the framework of analysis. Twenty parents of autistic children, who was interviewed in-depth during December 2000 to February 2001, participate the research through snowball sampling technique. The result indicates that parents' information seeking process starts when they realize their children's abnormal behaviour. Three stages of parents' information seeking process includes confusing, rejecting, and accepting stages. Each information seeking stage involves diferrent parents' goals, information sources, communication channels, and autism related messages. Most parents search for information through passive, active, and interactive strategies from self-help groups as well as other sources of information. Many parents use information avoiding strategy when the information increases their uncertainty on their children's condition. More often than not, these parents face communication problems with health care personnels who are not sensitive to parents' needs. Furthermore, the parents point out that autism information access is limited to people in big cities only