¶ … Families with Children with Autism in Rural New England

In this article, the authors looked at twenty-one parents who were the primary caregivers for their autistic children. There were several specific factors studied when it came to these individuals, such as recognizing that their child was autistic, what kind of intervention services that they used, and what kind of impact an autistic child has on their family life. These were all important areas to study, and many of the caregivers were aware that something was wrong with their child well before they received an official diagnosis. Some of the parents even received a diagnosis that was wrong at first or were told that their child was fine. Their instincts were proven right in the end, however. These caregivers often had a lot to say about the rest of their family members, as well, because many of them were not accepting of the autistic child. This appeared to be most pronounced where grandfathers on either parent's side were concerned.

Through their studies of the caregivers and their examination of the literature the authors discovered that families that include children with autism have many of the same hopes and struggles and frustrations that 'normal' families have. They deal with the same types of problems in addition to the autism. The way that the family works as a whole is usually strongly affected by having an autistic child because these children must be treated much differently than other children. It can be difficult and stressful, and the authors also found that other children in the family can experience that stress in the form of anxiety or depression or other behaviors. In addition, these children can feel as though they are not as loved because they do not often get as much attention - their autistic brother or sister takes most of that attention away. This can make the autistic child feel poorly, too, and feel as though he or she is a large burden for the family. It can be hard to discourage an autistic child from feeling this way because of the difficulties in communication, and that can add to parental and caregiver frustration, too.