Families of children with disabilities have greater parental stress due to problems involving the care for the child, pessimism about what may lie in the child’s future, and concerns about physical and behavioral aspects of the child. (Dyson, 1993)

Mothers of adolescents with autism reported a greater level of family stress than did mothers of adolescents with mental retardation. (Donovan, 1988)

Mothers of autistic children perceived child rearing as more stressful than did mothers of children with Down’s Syndrome. Furthermore, they found that both mother and fathers of autistic children perceived more stress related to a sense of a lack of time and energy. (Sanders & Morgan, 1997)

The reasoning behind these statements is because Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are so unpredictable in nature. For instance a child might be able to go bowling one time and the next time for whatever reason have a melt down at the bowling alley. There are still so many unknowns about the disorders and what triggers certain behaviors for each child that stress is always a part of the family. Some of the common stressors are:

:: The child’s diagnosis (what does it mean?)

::Financial hardship (will we get coverage? how much will it cost out of pocket?)

:: Strained emotional relationships between family members

:: Modification of family activities and goals

:: Restricted social life

:: Contact with professionals (who to get information from?)

:: Mourning and depression (reliving the pains at every turning point of the child’s life.)

The way you cope is going to significantly affect the overall family and your knowledge about how you cope is also going to help you overall. One big question to ask yourself is; How do you see the world? Do you look at things internally and say “I can do better next time if I try…” Or do you look at things externally and say “Even if I try I have no control over what happens to me.” Using inner resources as a coping mechanism is going to help with the stress level. Social supports are also very valuable much like to ones I talk about in earlier entries. Support groups, autism workshops in your school or community, adaptive recreation activities, therapists in progressive organizations on treating ASD all of these help to relieve the stress. Talking about problems and anxieties makes people feel better, function better and experience fewer psychological symptoms. The other obvious ways to decrease stress in families with ASD are to take care of your self, exercise, keep your hobbies, try not to bottle up emotions (talk with others or write in a journal), eat healthy and seek professional help if the stress becomes too unmanageable.