How parents perceive and feel about participation in community activities. The comparison between parents of preschoolers with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The team asked 60 moms and dads of preschoolers to fill out a short survey. Half had autistic kids. Half had non-autistic kids.

Parents rated how hard, how useful, and how scary they found ten common community spots. They also said if they would go back.

Both groups said "yes" to joining activities at the same rate. But they used very different rules to decide.

Autism parents looked at how hard the place felt and how upset they expected to get. Non-autism parents looked at cost and time.

Koç et al. (2026) extends this idea. They show that when parents stay mentally stuck, their emotions spike and burnout follows. The preschool study shows those same emotions start steering simple choices like going to the park.

Bennett et al. (2017) also extends the work. They found that disruptive mealtime behaviors, not food pickiness, hurt co-parenting and raise stress. Together these studies say: child behaviors spark parent emotions, then emotions drive bigger family patterns.

Demello et al. (1992) used a similar survey design decades earlier. They saw autism dads use more coping tricks yet still feel strain. Lam et al. (2010) now show that strain starts shaping everyday yes-or-no choices, not just long-term coping.

If you write a goal for community outings, check parent emotions first. Ask "What feels hardest about this place?" Then problem-solve that piece. A five-minute chat about noise levels or exit plans can turn a maybe into a yes and keep families engaged.