Battling Through the Norms of Pakistani Society: Mothers’ Apprehension Regarding Puberty of Their Daughters with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

The transition from childhood to adolescence is challenging especially for the youth of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Girls with autism struggles with menstruation and there is limited data available on sexual and reproductive health of ASD teenagers in Pakistani society, therefore this study aimed to explore mothers’ perception of puberty in 10-15 years ASD old girls using the qualitative exploratory design. Phase 1 involve generating interview guide through literature review and subject matter experts’ input. Phase 2 aimed to conduct interviews with mothers (N = 6) through purposive-convenient sampling. Themes were derived from recorded and transcribed interviews using the Braun and Clarke (2019) model. The Interrater reliability was substantial for mothers’ apprehension and the study aligned with international findings, highlighting noteworthy aspects. deficient in menstrual hygiene, rivalry with the same-sex parent, affectionate behavior towards father and uncle, victim of sexual harassment, lack of understanding about the rights and wrongs in religion, unavailability of funds to go for hormone replacement therapy and mood disruption during puberty. Furthermore, this study recognized the mothers’ apprehension of societal unacceptable attitudes toward the inappropriate pubertal behavior among the ASD teenagers and identified the need to eavesdrop on future exploration of reproductive health of ASD population in Pakistani society.