THE IMPACT OF AUTISM DIAGNOSIS ON THE FAMILY
Abstract:
Introduction: Having a child diagnosed with autism can be a challenge for any family. The study
aims to identify the parental couples’ emotions in order to start the process of parent involvement as a cotherapist
to recover the child. Materials and methods: Twenty parents were included in the study, which have
at least one child diagnosed with autism. We used a questionnaire composed of five parts which covered the
following: Age of the child, the age at which the parent has seen the first signs of disease and the age at which
the child was diagnosed with autism; Identifying the emotions (and their intensity) arising from knowing the
diagnosis of autism; Placing the parent in one of five stages of the mourning process (denial, anger,
bargaining, depression and acceptance); The description of the coping mechanisms used by parents with
COPE questionnaire.; Specifying the parent type of locus of control and social desirability using the LOC
scale. Results and discussion: The results allow us to make the following statements: Emotions identified by
parents were: sadness, concern, pain, despair; The parents included in the study are in one of the stages:
anger (10%), depression (10%) and acceptance (75%); The time elapsed from diagnosis to finding its
acceptance is between one month and three years; The coping mechanisms used are: positive reinterpretation,
acceptance, planning, the use of social support, active coping, religious coping; The locus of control belongs
to a normal range of values and the social desirability was quantified in a range of increased values.
Conclusions: The reaction to finding the diagnosis of autism varies from one family to another and may
encounter a large variety: from disbelief, anger, guilt, helplessness, devastation, surprise, or even rejection of
the child, to understanding and relief when finally the parents have an explanation for their child behaviors.
Early intervention is important in the psychological sustaining of the parent, as parent involvement in the
recovery of the child with autism has a determinant role in his development and in ensuring a high quality of
life.
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