Unveiling missing voices - Lifelong Experiences of fathers parenting autistic sons: An interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Fathers of grown autistic sons keep cycling between control and acceptance while they hunt for adult supports that hardly exist.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Koltai et al. (2025) talked at length with Hungarian fathers who have adult autistic sons. The team used interpretative phenomenological analysis, a fancy way of saying they let each dad tell his whole life story and then looked for shared themes.
All fathers had spent decades finding services for their now-grown sons. The study aimed to capture the long, looping journey these men described.
What they found
The dads painted a lifelong cycle: they try to control the future, learn to accept hard limits, live in an in-between space, and still grow as people. One clear message was that the search for adult services never ends.
Fathers said they need guides who understand this slow, back-and-forth path to acceptance, not just lists of programs.
How this fits with other research
Schneider et al. (2006) trained fathers of younger children and saw quick language gains. Gabriella’s work shows the same fathers may still be hunting help twenty years later, so short-term wins do not erase long-term uncertainty.
Huang et al. (2026) asked Chinese parents to redefine independence as shared happiness, not self-care tasks. The Hungarian dads echo this shift: they stop chasing normal milestones and start valuing calm, shared moments.
Cribb et al. (2019) let young autistic adults speak; they felt more in control when supported to build executive skills. The fathers in Gabriella’s study crave adult service models that honor this same gradual, skill-plus-relationship approach.
Why it matters
If you write transition plans or run adult programs, picture the father who has filled binders since kindergarten. Offer him a roadmap that names the emotional cycle, not just the paperwork. Build services that celebrate small joint victories, teach flexible coping, and schedule check-ins long after age twenty-two. When you validate the dad’s acceptance-adaptation journey, you turn a lifelong service seeker into an active partner.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study addresses the underrepresentation of fathers in autism research, particularly those with adult-aged autistic offspring. The authors explored the lifelong experiences and interpretations of fathers raising their autistic sons. Ten Hungarian fathers participated in a one-time semi-structured interview. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed four Group Experience Themes: 'A revolving cycle around losing and regaining control', 'Crossing boundaries: accepting and adapting', 'Being in the world as a father: experiences of eternality and liminality', and 'Personal growth through pervading experience'. The findings highlight unique fatherhood experiences and offer implications for professionals and service providers.Lay abstractBeing a father of an autistic son is a profound and complex experience. Fathers adapt to their autistic sons' unique needs and are always in search of services to ease uncertainties about their sons' present and future. We interviewed 10 Hungarian fathers who have adult-aged autistic children. We asked them about their experiences raising their autistic sons during childhood and adulthood. Our study focused on fathers of adult-aged sons because most research has studied mothers' experiences of autistic children under 18 years old. It is also essential to know how to be like a father with adult-aged autistic children. Fathers shared their ongoing struggle with uncertainty, always seeking the best possible solutions for their sons. They also talked about how they understand and adapt to autism and accept their sons with their special, autism-related characteristics. The findings of this research provide a deeper understanding of fathers' parenting experience, giving suggestions for professionals on supporting them and making their experiences valuable to the community of parents raising autistic children.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2025 · doi:10.1177/13623613241290096