Family quality of life and ASD: the role of child adaptive functioning and behavior problems.
Daily living skills are the strongest child predictor of family quality of life in school-age kids with ASD.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Emily et al. (2015) asked what part of a child's autism most shapes family life. They measured daily living skills, behavior problems, and family quality of life in school-age kids with ASD.
The team used surveys and rating scales. Parents answered questions about dressing, brushing teeth, and other self-care. They also rated how happy the family felt with home life, money, health, and support.
What they found
Daily living skills were the strongest child predictor of family quality of life. When kids could wash, dress, and help at home, parents reported higher satisfaction in every area.
Behavior problems mattered, but not as much as daily living skills. The study found positive results overall.
How this fits with other research
Dai et al. (2024) extends this work. They tracked newly diagnosed families for one year and found parenting confidence and social support drove family quality of life. Both studies agree family factors matter, but they spotlight different levers.
Gerow et al. (2021) shows you can move these levers. They taught parents via telehealth to coach daily living skills. All four kids gained independence. This intervention directly targets the skills Gardiner flagged as most helpful.
Ohan et al. (2015) looked at transition-age youth and found fewer challenging behaviors, not daily living skills, predicted family quality of life. The age gap explains the twist: what helps a ten-year-old may differ from what helps an eighteen-year-old.
Why it matters
If family happiness is your goal, start with daily living skills for elementary kids. Teach buttoning, tooth-brushing, or making a sandwich. These small wins lift the whole family's mood more than chasing perfect compliance. When families feel stuck, remind them that telehealth parent coaching works and can start tomorrow.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The family is the key support network for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in many cases into adulthood. The Family Quality of Life (FQOL) construct encompasses family satisfaction with both internal and external dynamics, as well as support availability. Therefore, although these families face considerable risk in raising a child with a disability, the FQOL outcome is conceptualized as representative of a continuum of family adaptation. This study examined the role of child characteristics, including adaptive functioning and behaviour problems, in relation to FQOL. Eighty-four caregivers of children and adolescents (range = 6-18 years) with ASD participated, completing questionnaires online and by telephone. Adaptive functioning, and specifically daily living skills, emerged as a significant predictor of FQOL satisfaction, after accounting for behavioural and demographic characteristics, including child age, gender, perceived disability severity, and behavioural problems, as well as family income. Furthermore, there were significant differences across each domain of FQOL when groups were separated by daily living skill functioning level ('low,' 'moderately low,' and 'adequate'). The results suggest that intervention strategies targeting daily living skills will likely have beneficial effects for both individual and family well-being, and may reduce family support demands.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2015 · doi:10.1002/aur.1442