Brief Report: Gender-Based Stereotypical Roles of Parents Caring for Autistic Children in Nigeria and South Africa.

Kehinde et al. (2023) talked to 24 parents of autistic kids in Nigeria and South Africa.

They asked moms and dads who does what at home and how each parent feels.

Small group chats and phone calls showed clear gender lines in caregiving.

Mothers cook, clean, take the child to therapy, and still go to work.

Fathers pay school fees and show up for big meetings, then step back.

Moms said they are "always tired"; dads said moms "handle those things better."

Patriarchal culture, not money, keeps the split in place.

Bromley et al. (2004) already counted that over half of moms of autistic kids feel high distress.

Adekunle’s work explains why: culture gives them every job and little help.

Smith et al. (2023) show Somali mothers in Australia also fight low teacher expectations.

Both studies say mothers, not fathers, carry the advocacy load.

Kuusikko-Gauffin et al. (2013) found mothers have the highest social anxiety.

Adekunle links that anxiety to daily overload, not just the child’s diagnosis.

If you write a parent-training plan, invite mothers first and offer daytime or weekend slots.

Add respite goals and stress checks for moms; they rarely ask for help.

Use simple praise to bring fathers in: "Dad, your turn to run the token chart."

Small shifts can lighten the main caregiver and improve the whole home.