Raising a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Examining Parental Factors

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is quite common today. Although being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder causes children to face with various difficulties in their lives, raising a child with autism spectrum disorder also poses several difficulties for the parents and families. Studies showed that parents raising children with autism spectrum disorder may perceive their parenting as inadequate and may experience stress, depression and anxiety due to their children's health, behavioral, social and emotional problems. Parents cannot devote enough time to themselves and therefore report intense fatigue. At the same time, raising a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder also differentiates the relationship between parent and child. Within the family system, marriage and sibling relationships are also affected and parents report high divorce rates due to difficulties experienced within the family. Lack of access to sufficient financial resources and time also causes various difficulties within the family. All these difficulties negatively affect parents' quality of life. The necessity of interventions specific to the needs of parents in all these areas is inevitable. In this review study, it is aimed to examine difficulties parents experience with their children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and, to discuss the limitations of studies examining the impact of autism spectrum disorder on parents.