“My greatest joy and my greatest heart ache:” Parents’ own words on how having a child in the autism spectrum has affected their lives and their families’ lives

The Factors Predicting Stress, Anxiety and Depression in the Parents of Children with Autism

“…Even if a parent is provided with the practical knowledge they need to manage their child's behaviours, this may not change their internal schema of themselves and their perceived relationship with their child. And it may also be that their distress is unrelated to their child -it may be related to their sense of loss about their lives (Myers, 2009), their sense of social isolation (Wright & Williams, 2007) or their perceived inability to adapt to an altered relationship dynamic with their partner (Rogers, 2008).…”

“…Postdiagnosis, parents express feeling unsupported and stigmatized by both medical professionals and members of the community (Lamminen, 2008;Wright & Williams, 2007), and report being uncertain about the future impact of the diagnosis upon both themselves and the functioning of their family unit (Woodgate et al, 2008). Parents can also report deterioration in marital satisfaction (Rogers, 2008) and a feeling of loss regarding the impact the diagnosis will have on their personal future life opportunities (Myers, 2009). …”

Parenting in families with a child with autism spectrum disorder and a typically developing child: Mothers’ experiences and cognitions

“…(Fisman, Wolf, Ellison, & Freeman, 2000;Moyson & Roeyers, submitted;Myers et al, 2009). Hutton and Caron (2005) offered some strategies for parents to deal with this negative impact, for instance by educating the sibling about the consequences of autism, by organizing activities exclusively for the sibling, or by involving the sibling whenever possible in activities with the child with autism.…”

“…Existing research exploring parent's experiences with a child with ASD points to impairments of family functioning such as 'giving up normal family activities and outings', 'lack of spontaneity or flexibility in family life', 'lack of personal social activities', 'stress surrounding the marital relationship', and 'difficulties to maintain employment or to pursue outside activities' (Gray, 1994(Gray, , 1997Hutton & Caron, 2005;Montes & Halterman, 2007;Myers, Mackintosh, & Goin-Kochel, 2009;Phelps, McCammon, Wuensch, & Golden, 2009). In these studies, however, only parents (mainly mothers) of children with ASD of a broad age range (between 3 and 35 years of age) and with a mean age of 10 years and older have been interviewed.…”

Relationships between Sense of Coherence, Coping Strategies and Quality of Life of Parents of Children with Autism in Malaysia: A Case Study among Chinese Parents

“…Moreover, parents of children with ASD tend to experience marital strain and disrupted family life due to their children's challenging behaviour, as well as fewer opportunities to engage with their communities (Allik et al, 2006;Myers et al, 2009). These parents are nearly twice as likely to divorce as compared to parents who do not have a child with autism, due to poor family functioning and less marital happiness (Higgins et al, 2005;Hartley et al, 2010;Gau et al, 2012).…”