מהשדה - למחקר - לשדה: יחסי אחים ואינטראקציה בין אחים שאחד מהם על הרצף האוטיסטי; על חשיבותה של התנסות קלינית לעבודת מחקר, דיון באמצעות שני תיאורי מקרה

The objective of this paper is to illustrate the interaction between research and clinical experience, in particular the contribution of clinical experience to the research process. The discussion is based on two case studies, in reference to a specific topic: the relationship and interaction of siblings when one of them is diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).Sibling relationships are often the longest and most significant relationships in a lifetime, with the potential to significantly influence development. However, siblings’ interaction when one child has ASD has hardly been studied so far. Scientific investigation of this relationship, through the analysis of unique interaction patterns in the dyad, is important at the theoretical level and at the practical level too. The first case presented in this paper describes clinical experience as a paraprofessional working with a child with social communication disorder, and how observing the relationship of this child and his older sister contributed to the formulation of a research question. The second case describes therapeutic mentoring of a child with ASD in his home. These experiences illustrate how theoretical knowledge contributed to working with the child and his older brother, and how practical work contributed to a better understanding of the complexity of this research question while advancing insights for data analysis.The conclusion is that clinical experience is of great importance not only for those who prepare themselves to become educators, clinicians or therapists, but also for researchers who wish to pursue academic careers.