Journal on Developmental Disabilities
Le journal sur les handicaps du développement

Abstract

The Internet has become the source for a wide range of information for families with children with special needs. Although parents use the Internet as a library, it lacks some important safeguards of libraries. Scientific review, guidelines for acquisition, and accreditation criteria are part of a library system and facilitate the collection of valid and reliable resources. These processes are absent from the Internet, and in combination with the obvious commercial goal of the Internet, leave families of children with special needs conducting online research at risk of acquiring misguided, biased, and invalid information. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively evaluate the content of the Internet as an information source for families of children with autistic characteristics. A sample of 145 online sites were reviewed. The results indicate the need for a system of peer review to insure the quality and validity of information for families of children with autistic characteristics.

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