Parenting stress, child behavior problems, and dysphoria in parents of children with autism, down syndrome, behavior disorders, and normal development

Comparison Groups in Autism Family Research: Down Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, and Schizophrenia

“…The durability of these findings about elevated levels of maternal stress has been demonstrated in more recent research (e.g., Bouma & Schweitzer, 1990;Kasari & Sigman, 1997). Studies that have compared both mothers and fathers of children with autism to parents of children with other diagnoses suggest that mothers are affected more negatively than fathers and that families of children with autism experience more problems than families of children with other diagnosed conditions (Dumas, Wolf, Fisman, & Culligan, 1991;Rodrigue, Morgan, & Geffken, 1990, 1992Wolf, Noh, Fisman, & Speechley, 1989). The comparative focus has also been extended to siblings of children with autism, who have been found to have higher levels of both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and lower rates of social interaction with their brother or sister with autism than other groups (Fisman et al, 1996;Knott, Lewis, & Williams, 1995;Rodrigue, Geffken, & Morgan, 1993).…”

“…The assumption here is that there are various dynamics within the family that typically vary with age-related changes in, and societal expectations for, the child with autism. Child gender is often a matching variable (e.g., Dissanayke & Crossley, 1996;Dumas et al, 1991;Fisman et al, 1989Fisman et al, , 1996Kasari & Sigman, 1997;Rodrigue et al, 1990Rodrigue et al, , 1992Wolf et al, 1989). This is sensible in light of well-documented differences in parental behavior and expectations tied to child gender (Leaper, 2002).…”

The importance of early identification and intervention for children with or at risk for autism spectrum disorders

“…Along with this perspicacious ability of parents to identify a problem very early in life is the coinciding stress that is almost universally present in parents with a child with a disability (Baker, Blacher, Crnic, & Edelbrock, 2002;Baker-Ericzn, Brookman-Frazee, & Stahmer, 2005). Without tools to address atypical behaviours, such as is the case with ASD, anxious parents are likely to further descend into deeper levels of health problems, such as depression (Dumas, Wolf, Fisman, & Culligan, 1991;Hastings & Brown, 2002), possibly interfering with their ability to effectively parent (Durand, Hieneman, Clarke, Wang, & Rinaldi, 2013). In contrast, providing parents with tools to address symptoms at the earliest point in time is likely to give them self-confi dence and empowerment (Durand, Hieneman, Clarke, & Zona, 2009;Koegel, Bimbela, & Schreibman, 1996), thereby improving their own mental health along with their child ' s behaviour.…”

Etiology of Autism and Parents of Autistic Children

“…Caring for a child with autism can be a twenty-four hour job throughout the child"s entire lifetime. Dumas et al, 1991 found that parents of children with autism and behavior disorders reported significantly higher levels of parenting stress than parents of children with Down Syndrome or with normal development. A child with autism is a large stressor on the family because of the ambiguity of diagnosis, the severity and duration of the disorder, and problems with the child"s lack of adherence to social norms (Bristol, 1984).…”