Ten years on: a longitudinal study of families of children with autism

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a longitudinal, ethnographic study of the psychosocial adaptation of parents of children with autism. The results indicate that most parents have experienced improvements in terms of their own psychological well-being, the social experiences of their immediate family members and their relations with members of their extended family. They also reported changes to the stressful situations they experience and their strategies for coping with them. Stigmatizing reactions of non-family members have also declined. The results were less favorable in the cases of families with aggressive and/or violent children. The parents in these families experienced high levels of stress and had few resources in terms of treatment or residential placement to deal with their situation.