The impact of school challenges on parental employment among families with children on the autism spectrum

Abstract

Families raising children on the autism spectrum often experience financial pressures, including lower incomes linked to reduced parental employment participation. Although the literature identifies many school challenges for children on the autism spectrum and their families, the evidence analysing the impact of school challenges on parental employment is sparse. This paper presents findings from in-depth interviews conducted with 19 families living in England, Scotland and Wales to explore their perspectives on the impact of school on parental paid employment. School support and staff understanding can be critical for children on the autism spectrum and their families. Lacking school support was found to contribute to eventual formal and informal school exclusions as well as child school refusal. These manifestations of unmet school needs meant that parents frequently experienced employment interruptions, exacerbating both financial pressures (the risk of losing work pay) and temporal pressures (for example, making up for lost working time).