PARENTING STRESS IN CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN WITHAUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD)

Abstract

It’s not easy to be the parent of a child with any sort of disability. However, through my experience as a
clinical psychologist, I must admit that the challenges faced by parents of children having autism are
perhaps the most moving. It is undeniably stressful for parents to have a child who is even minimally different
from his/her typically developing peers, with varying degrees of severity in the impairment (if any); but,
research has proved that to be a parent of a child having autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can lead to acute
as well as chronic stress among the caregivers1,2. Children with ASD typically present with persistent deficits in
their socio-communicative interactions along with restricted and repetitive behaviours3. For parents, learning
to deal with their child’s impoverished communication skills and behavioral problems such as refusal to
sleep and intense behavioral meltdowns can be a cause for pain and confusion4. According to an article
by Zach Gouldsmith on ‘Stress of parenting a child with Autism Spectrum or Related disorders’ published in
AAPC Publishing, several children having autism exhibit behaviors that are regarded as “unusual,” and
sometimes even “disturbing,” which makes parents anxious about social disapproval from other parents5.
There appears to be a universal deficit in the knowledge and understanding that parents have about ASD,
which translates into a generalized lack of acceptance of individuals with this disability than any of the
others.