Breaking Barriers and Building Resilience: Access to Care in Families of Children with Autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social skill challenges and repetitive behaviors with symptom severity varying widely. While family resilience has been highlighted as a focus of intervention, access to treatment is an important consideration for clinicians working with families affected by ASD. This study explored the role of access to care and family resilience in the relationship between ASD severity and parental stress using path analysis among a sample of 210 parents of children with ASD. Results indicated the indirect effect of family resilience on parental stress was not significant. When evaluated as sequential mediators, access to care and family resilience partially mediated the relationship between ASD severity and parent stress. These findings suggest that efforts to foster resilience may be less effective in the absence of accessible care and assessment of factors that contribute to barriers to care should be considered in systemic approaches.