The Unexpected Comfort of Feeling It All: A Support Group for Mothers of Autistic Adolescents Using the Lens of Ambiguous Loss

Abstract

Many parents experience grief and loss in response to their child receiving an autism diagnosis in early childhood. However, there is a dearth of research that considers if grief and loss are experienced by parents throughout their child’s adolescence and young adulthood. Further, there is a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that parents of autistic children may be living with ambiguous loss in particular, that is, a loss for which there is no closure or resolution. This case study introduces a peer group intervention utilizing an ambiguous loss framework that school social workers and other clinicians can adopt to support mothers of autistic adolescents who are struggling with ambiguous loss. Through the group process, the mothers developed deeper understanding, self-compassion, and effective coping strategies, resulting in a more resilient approach to the transition process and an enhanced capacity to plan for a meaningful adult life with their autistic child.