Mothers supporting children with autistic spectrum disorders: social support, mental health status and satisfaction with services.
Over half of moms raising kids with autism are in serious distress and need respite plus mental-health support now.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Bromley et al. (2004) asked the mothers of kids with autism to fill out a survey.
They wanted to know how much stress the moms felt and what help they needed most.
The survey covered mental health, social support, and how happy they were with services.
What they found
More than half of the moms scored in the distressed range on a mental-health checklist.
Most said they needed more respite care and better behavioral support for their child.
They also felt schools and clinics were not meeting their needs.
How this fits with other research
Kuusikko-Gauffin et al. (2013) zoomed in on social anxiety and found moms of kids with ASD had much higher scores than other parents.
This sharpens the 2004 picture: the distress is not just general sadness but also fear of social situations.
Van Herwegen et al. (2018) compared parents across three diagnoses and found ASD parents were the least satisfied with school services.
This extends the 2004 finding by showing the problem is worst for autism families, not shared equally across disabilities.
Yamaoka et al. (2022) looked at all special-ed moms and added that these mothers also have higher body weight and weaker neighborhood ties.
This widens the lens: the stress affects both mind and body, and social isolation may be part of the cause.
Why it matters
If you serve kids with autism, screen their moms for anxiety and depression at intake. Offer respite hours, parent training, and quick referrals to counseling. Small supports early can prevent big crises later.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a one-page parent stress screener to your intake packet and schedule a follow-up call within 48 hours for any mom who scores high.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) are more likely to experience serious psychological distress than parents of children with other developmental disabilities. To examine the impact of a range of factors on psychological wellbeing, interviews were undertaken with 68 mothers of children with ASDs to explore aspects of social support, mental health status and satisfaction with services. Findings indicated that over half of mothers screened positive for significant psychological distress and that this was associated with low levels of family support and with bringing up a child with higher levels of challenging behaviour. Mothers were more likely to report lower levels of support if they were a lone parent, were living in poor housing, or were the mother of a boy with ASD. The study also investigated areas of useful support and areas of unmet need, the latter including care breaks and advice needs.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2004 · doi:10.1177/1362361304047224