The Role of Grandparents in Supporting Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Family Systems Approach.
Grandfathers can be the secret calm-down tool in autism families.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Fleury et al. (2019) talked to families who have a child with autism.
They asked how grandparents help the family stay steady during hard days.
The team used a family-systems lens, meaning they watched how every member affects the others.
What they found
Grandparents acted like emotional shock absorbers.
Grandfathers, in particular, calmed everyone when big behavior bursts happened.
Their quiet presence helped parents reset and keep going.
How this fits with other research
Rodríguez-Martínez et al. (2020) pooled many studies and found social support is the top booster of caregiver resilience.
P et al. echo this by showing grandparents are a ready-made support squad.
Acar et al. (2021) warn that most programs leave parents on the sidelines.
P et al. extend this call by saying, “Bring grandparents to the table too.”
Ben-Sasson et al. (2019) saw social workers fret that grandparents might take over; P et al. show the opposite—grandparents steady without stealing the parent role.
Why it matters
Next time you write a behavior plan, list grandpa as a natural calm-down tool.
Invite grandparents to a short training on staying neutral during meltdowns.
One calm grandfather can drop stress for everyone in the room.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A family systems approach is required to identify the needs of families of children with autism. This paper explores how grandparents support children with autism and their parents using a family systems perspective. A thematic analysis of eighteen semi-structured interviews was conducted with participants from nine families, capturing experiences of both parents' and grandparents'. Themes identified were family recalibrating; strengthening the family system; and current needs and future concerns of grandparents. The views of families indicated the overwhelming need to acknowledge the grandparental role in supporting families that strengthen the family system by supporting the needs of a child with autism. Findings revealed that grandfathers have a calming role in these families where children have significant behavioural difficulties.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3753-0