Influence of autism awareness on the psychological well-being of mothers caring for their children with autism

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorders are currently hot topics in the field of special education due to the high prevalence ratio of ASD. Autism is different from all other disabilities; the characteristics of autism create additional stress for the parents and make the life of the family very hard. Usually the families are left alone to face the stressful challenge of raising a child with autism. In addition, families are also concerned with communication, education and related services, relationships with professionals and the independence of the child and his/her future concerns. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess association between awareness and psychological wellbeing among mothers of newly diagnosed children with autism. A descriptive research design was used. The study was conducted in two setting: the Special Needs Care Center in the Institute of Post-graduate Childhood Studies affiliated to Ain Shams University and Egyptian Autistic Society and the out- patient clinic for child psychiatric treatments at El Abassia mental health hospital. Sixty children accompanied by their mothers with certain criteria were recruited during the period of 2014 – 2015. The study concluded that about two third of the studied sample had poor awareness regarding autism and there was a highly statistical significant relation between awareness and psychological wellbeing among mothers of children with autism. The study recommended that media awareness must be increased to aid mothers in prompting tolerance and understanding of autism with a clear explanation and a focus on; children with autism will be better when integrated in the society. Furthermore, there is a necessity to Counseling parents to enhance their awareness about autism for modifying their behaviors and psychosocial skills.