Parents of children with high-functioning autism report significantly higher levels of stress and lower levels of adaptive coping and resources than parents of children with typical development.
Psychological Stress—Meeting the needs of a child with autism can increase a parents' risk of depression, anxiety, or other kinds of psychological distress. Parents who do not take steps to learn healthy coping strategies and disengage from caring for their mental health are likely to suffer even more stress.
Constantly worrying over the “unknowns” and the “what if's,” mothers of autistic children can also develop anxiety. Symptoms of anxiety. It makes the parenting experience much more difficult and challenging because they are often drained and do not have enough energy to give their child what they feel they need.
Family Issues
Meeting the complex needs of a person with an ASD can put families under a great deal of stress—emotional, financial, and sometimes even physical. Respite care can give parents and other family caregivers a needed break and help maintain family well-being.
Parenting an autistic child is a challenging and stressful experience, especially where support is limited. The challenges of an autistic child's parent range from health challenges, financial problems, changes in family dynamics, and the absence of social life and a system of support.
How do parents feel? Parents of children with autism sometimes describe feeling “overwhelmed, guilty, confused, angry, or depressed.” Frustration is a common emotion. They may feel frustrated when their child is clumsy, unresponsive, angry, or disregarding of others.
A child with ASD can be challenging—they may be restless; have trouble sleeping, eating or speaking; experience seizures; or have meltdowns born of frustration or overstimulation. Expectations for a “normal” life may need to be adjusted.
Parenting an autistic child can mean being cut off from others and facing high stress over a very long period of time. Stress may bring physical symptoms such as headaches, or difficulty sleeping. Some people become very emotional or anxious. Others report feeling persistently tired and chronically unwell.
Just like any other adults, people on the autism spectrum can be exemplary parents. An acceptance and appreciation of their autism and access to appropriate support for themselves and their families can help them to effectively manage the unique challenges they face.
A new study challenges the theory that autism is largely passed down from mothers. In fact, siblings who are both diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) seem to get a larger portion of their DNA from their father.
Findings from existing research consistently hold that parents of children with ASD are at a high risk for psychological disorders, with mothers usually suffering higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression than fathers (Al-Oran & Al-Sagarat, 2016).
Children with autism prefer their mothers to strangers and attempt to remain close to them as much as other children. However they do not engage in attention sharing behaviors such as pointing or showing objects. They also do not seem to recognize the meaning of facial expressions and emotions.
Not because they don't want to, but because they feel they can't. Research shows that just 11% of parents with autistic children work full-time, and 70% say they are prevented from working by a lack of appropriate care facilities.
Nearly 1 in 5 parents of kids with autism who participated in a new study had enough symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder to qualify for a provisional diagnosis. The study, which included hundreds of parents of children who are on the spectrum, found that 18.6 percent met criteria for PTSD.
Free-range parenting is inappropriate for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Children with ASD need higher levels of focused parental engagement, with parents who help them learn how to socialize, converse, pretend, ask questions, investigate the world, and build other important skills.
While a person with moderate or severe autism is unlikely to have the skills to raise a child, many people with high-functioning autism are ready, willing, and able, to take on the challenges of raising kids. Many aspects of parenting and guardianship can be tougher for those on the autism spectrum.
Accept your child, quirks and all.
Rather than focusing on how your autistic child is different from other children and what he or she is “missing,” practice acceptance. Enjoy your kid's special quirks, celebrate small successes, and stop comparing your child to others.
Loneliness is a negative experience that can happen when you do not have fulfilling connections with other people. You might feel isolated or rejected. Many autistic people enjoy spending time alone and consider it important for their wellbeing.
One key finding was that children's symptom severity can change with age. In fact, children can improve and get better. "We found that nearly 30% of young children have less severe autism symptoms at age 6 than they did at age 3.
In conclusion, there are many factors that can make autism worse. Sensory overload, changes in routine, social isolation, co-occurring conditions, and lack of support can all exacerbate the symptoms of autism.
Low functioning autism refers to children and adults with autism who show the most severe symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder and are diagnosed as having Level 3 ASD. They are usually unable to live independently and require support from a guardian throughout their lives.
To be an autism mom means trying to reconcile the world's expectations of your child with their actual capabilities. To be an autism mom means accepting a never-ending quest, a burning compulsion, to find that thing that might make life a little easier for your child.
At the root, Autism Warrior Parents are those who, for whatever reason, refuse to accept their autistic child's actual reality and needs, and instead put their energies into absolute change. • Know you're complicit, but that means you have power. • Learn enough to get involved, but don't get stuck.
According to a study published in Molecular Autism, children born to mothers with autism have a 5.4% chance of also being diagnosed with the disorder, while children born to fathers with autism have only a 1.5% chance.