Impact of employee benefits on families with children with autism spectrum disorders.
Paid family leave and flexible hours keep parents of kids with autism happier at work and less likely to quit.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Gnanasekaran et al. (2016) sent a short survey to parents of children with autism. They asked which work benefits the parents actually used and how happy they felt at their jobs.
The survey listed things like paid family leave, flexible hours, and the option to work from home. Parents simply checked the boxes they used and rated their job satisfaction.
What they found
Most parents grabbed the flexible hours benefit when it was offered. Paid family leave was used less often, but it packed the bigger punch.
Parents who had paid leave said they felt much better about their jobs. Flexible hours helped, yet leave was the clear winner for satisfaction.
How this fits with other research
Ouyang et al. (2014) looked at money and work trouble for three groups: autism-only, autism plus intellectual disability, and fragile X. Families dealing with both autism and ID had the hardest time keeping jobs and paying bills. Paid leave and flex time, then, matter most for the group already hit hardest.
Isensee et al. (2022) caught families during COVID-19 lock-downs. When outside help stopped, parental stress doubled. The new study shows that steady workplace benefits can act like a shock absorber when other supports vanish.
Bayat (2007) found that many autism families stay strong by pulling together and finding new meaning in daily life. Good benefits free up time and mental space, letting those natural resilience skills grow.
Why it matters
If you supervise, hire, or coach working parents of kids with autism, push for paid family leave first, then flexible hours. These simple perks keep skilled staff on your caseload and lower their stress, which means better teamwork and steadier therapy for the child.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The objectives of this study are to evaluate the employee benefits parents of children with autism spectrum disorders have, how benefits are used, work change, and job satisfaction. We conducted a cross-sectional mailed survey study of 435 families with children with autism spectrum disorders residing in the United States. We received 161 surveys for a response rate of 37%. Families reported using the following benefits: 39% paid family leave, 19% unpaid family leave, 91% flexible work arrangements, and 86% telecommuting. Of respondents, 43% reported stopping work, cutting down on hours worked, or changing jobs because of their child's condition. Having paid family leave was a positive predictor for job satisfaction. Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders have an interest and need for alternative work arrangements.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2016 · doi:10.1177/1362361315598891