This study aimed to identify different profiles of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability (ID) and maternal factors characteristic of these profiles. Participants were 89 children between 7 and 11 years old and their mothers, distributed in two groups, 52 children with ASD and 37 with typical development (TD).…

Restricted interests are an established diagnostic symptom of autism spectrum disorder. While there is considerable evidence that these interests have maladaptive consequences, they also provide a range of benefits. This article introduces a new instrument, the Survey of Favorite Interests and Activities, and uses it to examine the nature of…

Posttraumatic growth theory posits that when life circumstances are perceived as stressful, secondary appraisal processes can be recruited in ways to facilitate both coping efforts and personal growth. Using a mixed-methods approach, we found mothers' most challenging experiences involved child behavior (e.g. aggression, communication, and social…

Caring for a child that has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has implications for parents' social and emotional health and well-being. The following article presents the findings from a review of the literature to help elucidate some of the issues that these parents experience. The article begins by arguing that early intervention is the key to…

The lockdown that was imposed by governments as part of the attempt to contain the COVID-19 pandemic included extreme measures, such as home confinement and the shutting down of special education systems. Our aim was to learn about the core experiences of parents of children with autism during this significant life disturbance. Thirty-one parents…

An autism spectrum disorder can result in considerable stress and confusion for parents as they attempt to understand their child's problems and obtain a diagnosis. Few studies have explored the parental experience in the context of Chinese culture. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of parents in Taiwan of children…

This study examined the effectiveness of an 8-week psychoeducational group program for siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The sample consisted of 38 siblings aged 6-15 years (M = 10.75), allocated to the experimental (n = 22) or control group (n = 16). Self-report questionnaires were administered before and after the…

The transition to secondary school is considered difficult for children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), yet there has been little strength-based investigation of positive experiences of this population and the types of support they value most in managing anxiety about transition. The current article presents a qualitative exploration of the…

There are few support services for parents of children with a disability in Jordan. The present exploratory study investigated whether the provision of an education program in Jordan for mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder increased mothers' understanding of their child's behaviour, improved the mothers' coping skills, and reduced…

Background: Mothers of children with autism experience poorer health and wellbeing compared to mothers of children with other disabilities or typically-developing children. This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to explore the daily life experiences of mothers of children with autism, and the strategies they use to manage their roles, their…

In this study, the Double ABCX model of family adaptation was used to explore the impact of severity of autism symptoms, behavior problems, social support, religious coping, and reframing, on outcomes related to family functioning and parental distress. The sample included self-report measures collected from 195 families raising school-age…

Background: It is well accepted that emotion regulation difficulties are a serious concern for children with ASD, yet empirical studies of this construct are limited for this population. The present study describes group differences between high functioning children with autism and their typical peers in frustration and discrete coping strategies…

Despite the ubiquitous nature of parent education in autism treatment, relatively few studies directly address "how" parent education should be conducted. Given that the literature on parental well-being suggests that treatments that facilitate positive parental adaptation to their child's disability may be beneficial, this study…

The research validates a multivariate model that predicts parental adjustment to coping successfully with an autistic child. The model comprises four elements: parental stress, parental resources, parental adjustment and the child's autism symptoms. 176 parents of children aged between 6 to 16 diagnosed with PDD answered several questionnaires…

When a child is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) parents often experience a range of difficult feelings, which typically are not addressed in child-focused interventions. This study examined the relationship between a mother's acceptance of and sense of resolution regarding her child's diagnosis of an ASD and maternal interaction…