Keeping a Sound Marriage: How Couples with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Maintain Their Marriages

Couple relationships among parents of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Findings from a scoping review of the literature

“…Husbands of children with ASD placed more emphasis on feelings of love, trust, and eagerness to meet their wives needs; as well as working together to overcome difficulties in the relationship. The results of this study reinforce the importance of effective communication between parents of children with ASD and recommended that future researchers delve further into exploring effective communication in these relationships (Ramisch et al, 2014).…”

“…As few studies to date have included control groups, research that compares parents of children with ASD with parents of children with other disabilities, or parents of children with no disabilities, will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the unique relational experiences of these parents. Since this review was conducted, a study was published by Ramisch, Onaga, and Oh (2014), which explored parental reports of factors that contribute to maintaining successful marriages and compared the responses from parents of children with ASD to parents of children with no ASD diagnosis. The mothers of children with ASD in this study emphasized the importance of spending time alone (i.e., without their partners or children) as a significant factor impacting marital success, whereas the mothers of typically developing did not identify this as significant to maintaining success in their marriage.…”

Couple Conflict in Parents of Children with versus without Autism: Self-Reported and Observed Findings

“…In the majority of these studies, parents of children with ASD were found to have a higher rate of divorce (Hartley et al, 2010) or a lower self-reported level of global marital satisfaction or marital adjustment (Brobst, Clopton, & Hendrick, 2009; Gau et al, 2012; Higgins, Bailey, & Pearce, 2005; Santamaria, Cuzzocrea, Gugliandolo, & Larcan, 2012) than parents of children without disabilities. Yet, a smaller number of studies found no group differences (Freedman, Kalb, Zablotsky, & Stuart, 2012; Ramisch, Onaga, & Oh, 2014; Rodriguez, Morgan, & Geffken, 1992). No studies have compared couple conflict in parents of children with ASD to that of comparison groups.…”

Exploring Partner Intimacy Among Couples Raising Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Grounded Theory Investigation

“…Extant literature is just beginning to provide some answers. For example, Ramisch, Onaga, and Oh () found that maintaining strong lines of communication and sharing similar ideas about what it means to be married helped husbands and wives to experience intimacy together despite the challenges of caring for children with ASD. This study also found that making decisions together, developing and making use of support networks, and relying on one's faith/belief systems were key components of sustaining intimate relationships when raising children with ASD.…”