Resilience Within Families of Young Children with ASD.
Moms and dads of young kids with autism face sharply higher depression and burnout—especially when the child has no functional speech—so build parent mental-health checks into every ABA program.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Dijkstra-de Neijs et al. (2025) compared moms and dads of preschool and early-elementary kids with autism to parents of typically developing kids. They used surveys and interviews to measure depression, burnout, and daily hassles.
What they found
Both mothers and fathers in autism families scored much higher on depression and burnout scales. The biggest drivers were the child having no useful speech and the parent already living with mental-health issues.
How this fits with other research
Lai et al. (2015) and Nahar et al. (2022) saw the same jump in stress and depression, so the new study is a clear replication. Estes et al. (2009) showed child behavior problems spike maternal stress; Leanne’s team now adds ‘lack of speech’ as a specific red flag.
Miezah et al. (2026) tracked families for two years and found social support and active coping lower stress. Leanne’s cross-sectional snapshot lines up: parents who felt unsupported also scored highest on burnout.
Sanz-Cervera et al. (2015) offers hope. They showed depression drops once kids reach adulthood, hinting that early burnout may ease with time and the right supports.
Why it matters
You already teach parents behavior skills; now screen them for burnout and depression at intake. When a child has little or no speech, flag the family for extra support and connect them with peer groups—friend support was the strongest buffer in Drogomyretska et al. (2020). Treating the parent’s mental health is as urgent as teaching the child new words.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a child affects family processes, increases parenting stress and marital conflicts, and may lead to parental psychopathology. It may also affect the prognosis for their children. The aim of this study is to determine depression and burnout levels as well as their predictors among parents of children with ASD compared with those of healthy children. We also sought to evaluate rate of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions among parents and explore the associations of this phenomenon in an exploratory fashion. 145 children with ASD and 127 control children were enrolled along with their mothers and fathers. Beck Depression Inventory and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to evaluate parents' depression symptoms and burnout levels. Symptoms of children with ASDs were evaluated according to the Childhood Autism Rating Scale by the clinicians. Family, child and CAM variables were screened by means of a sociodemographic data form. Descriptive, bivariate and correlation analyses were used in statistical evaluations. Predictors of burnout were evaluated with multiple regression analysis. Burnout and depression levels among parents of children with ASD were significantly elevated compared to controls. Burnout levels of mothers were significantly elevated compared to fathers while depression scores of fathers were significantly elevated compared to mothers. Maternal burnout was significantly predicted by presence of functional speech in child while paternal burnout was significantly predicted by paternal vocation. Maternal depression was associated with paternal depression, lack of speech in child and attendance of child to special education services. Paternal depression was associated with autistic symptom severity and maternal depression. More than half the parents sought CAM interventions. Education level did not affect search for CAM interventions while both maternal and paternal psychopathology and presence of epilepsy among children increased use of CAM methods. Psychological support should be provided to both mothers and fathers of a child receiving a diagnosis of ASD. Addressing parents' burnout and stress levels and facilitating their negotiation of knowledge on etiology and treatments for ASD may be beneficial for the family unit as a whole.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025 · doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000016794