Psychological distress and positive gain in mothers of children with autism, with or without other children with neurodevelopmental disorders

Abstract

Although a wealth of literature has focused on the parenting experiences of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is a lack of research about mothers who are parenting a child with ASD, and who have other children with neurodevelopmental disorders. In this matched-comparison study, 10 mothers of a child with ASD and other typically developing children (ASD-TD) were compared to 10 mothers of a child with ASD who also had other children with neurodevelopmental disorders (ASD-NDD). Mothers completed self-report measures of mental health and positive gain. Results indicated no significant between-group differences for mental health, although mothers in the ASD-NDD group reported increased positive gain compared to mothers in the ASD-TD group. Further research is needed to understand practical support needs and theory development

Keywords:

• autism
• neurodevelopmental disorders
• siblings
• psychological well-being
• mental health
• neurodiversity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund: award number 4377/7247.