A quantitative study on parental treatment of caregivers towards children with autism

Pages: 1001-1004
Riddhita Shah and Kamayani Mathur (Department of Psychology, Philosophy & Education, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat)

Autism is defined as a complex neuro-development disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. Autism impacts development areas like social interaction, communication skills and behaviour. Around 7,00,000 Americans live with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Buescher et al., 2014). According to Rehabilitation Council of India approximately 1 in every 250 person has Autism. Having an Autistic child might give a devastating experience to the family. Furthermore, lack of societal understanding towards the special needs and requirements of these children would make things worse. Treatment given by the caregiver (Parent) to the child shapes his/her ‘self’ and personality in a characteristic way. This quantitative, purposive sampling study comprised of 40 mothers and 40 fathers of children suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder. It also comprised of 20 working and 20 non-working mothers of children suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder. The parents were given Questionnaire on Multi-Dimensional Parenting Scale (MDP Scale) to measure parental behaviour in terms of ‘mothering’ and ‘fathering’. The objective of the study is to investigate the parental attitude towards their autistic child. Data analysis revealed high variation of parental behaviour among mothers and fathers. Variation in parental behaviour is also seen among working and non-working mothers.