Parenting stress in caregivers of young children with ASD concerns prior to a formal diagnosis.
Parent stress is already sky-high as soon as autism concerns surface—screen and support caregivers while the child is still on the wait list.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team tracked parents whose toddlers were flagged for autism traits but had no formal diagnosis yet.
They measured parenting stress several times to see if it stayed high before any label was given.
Child social skills and parent coping style were also scored to learn what drives the stress.
What they found
Moms and dads of these toddlers kept reporting higher stress than families with typical kids.
The gap did not shrink while they waited for an evaluation.
Poor child eye contact and parent self-blame were the biggest stress boosters.
How this fits with other research
Fäldt et al. (2024) asked parents to talk about life before diagnosis and heard the same story: "We are crashing too." Their words match the numbers in Lotfizadeh et al. (2020), giving a full picture.
Eussen et al. (2016) looked at school-age kids with high-functioning ASD and still found extra stress. Together the studies draw a long line: stress rises early and stays.
Porter et al. (2008) turned the lens around and showed high stress can erase gains from early ABA. This warns us: if we skip parent support, the child’s progress may fade.
Why it matters
You can start helping parents the minute they say "something feels off." No need to wait months for a label. Add a quick stress rating to your intake. Offer a listening ear, respite options, or a parent group right then. Lowering stress early keeps families engaged and makes your teaching stick.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Robust findings demonstrate that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high levels of parenting stress that are associated with negative outcomes for families. Although the majority of research on parenting stress has focused on parents of children with an existing diagnosis, parents of young children with concerns about ASD-related behaviors also face many unique challenges before the time of diagnosis. However, no study to date has examined patterns of parenting stress among parents of children with ASD concerns prior to a formal ASD diagnosis. Therefore, the current study investigated longitudinal trajectories of parenting stress among parents of young children with ASD concerns compared to parents of children with non-ASD developmental concerns (e.g., language delay), and parents of children with no developmental concerns. Known predictors of parenting stress were also examined. Results from multilevel model analyses revealed that parents of children with ASD concerns experienced consistently higher levels of parenting stress across early child development compared to parents of children with non-ASD developmental concerns and those with no concerns. Additionally, parenting efficacy, psychological functioning, social satisfaction, and child social communication behaviors predicted levels of parenting stress for all parents. Autism Res 2020, 13: 82-92. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: This study examined parenting stress across time among parents of young children with ASD concerns before receiving a diagnosis. Parents of children with ASD concerns reported consistently higher levels of parenting stress compared to parents of children with other developmental concerns and parents of children with no concerns. Also, ASD concerns predicted parenting stress in addition to other parent and child predictors of parenting stress. These findings highlight the need to better support families before an ASD diagnosis.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2020 · doi:10.1002/aur.2213