Assessment of the Quality of Life of Families of Children With Autism

Abstract

Being a parent of a child who exhibits atypical developmental patterns and encounters numerous difficulties necessitates parents to assume the roles of advocates and coordinators for their child’s services, thereby limiting the scope for personal fulfillment. This research endeavors to ascertain whether disparities exist in the quality of life between parents of typically developing children and parents of children with autism. Additionally, it aims to explore parental satisfaction with parenthood and the experience of parental stress. The study encompassed a cohort of 90 families, comprising 45 families with typically developing children and 45 families with children diagnosed with autism. To facilitate data collection, a comprehensive questionnaire was devised, capturing fundamental information. Furthermore, two scales, namely the Parental Satisfaction Scale and the Parental Stress Scale, were employed to assess parental perspectives. The results, obtained through nonparametric group comparison techniques, substantiate a significantly heightened level of parental stress among parents of children with autism. Moreover, noteworthy discrepancies were observed across essential domains of parental satisfaction. An unprecedented finding arising from this investigation, not documented in extant literature, pertains to the prevalent inclination of parents whose firstborn and solitary child has autism to conceive another child, motivated by apprehensions of autism recurrence and concerns surrounding their capacity to devote sufficient attention to a child with autism.