Autism and Parental Satisfaction - Research Paper Example

Autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. The disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. This condition is more common among children and this may impact, psychologically speaking, parents, especially mothers of autistic children. Often, marriage partners are unable to communicate effectively about the condition of their autistic child because of feelings of guilt and shame (Baer et al., 2012). This study seeks to find the parental satisfaction for mothers with autistic children.

In order to understand the subject, the study reviewed several pieces of literature material about autism. Of greatest focus was material concerning the psychological and behavioral impact on the parents and/or people living around people with this condition. Methodologically, this study used the survey method (questionnaires) on mothers with autistic children. The methodology used random sampling. The study used the Likert scale in analyzing the data using the Statistical Package for social sciences (SPSS).

From the analysis, the study finds out the factors contributing to satisfaction of mothers with autistic children, which can be outlined as social support, the stress of the mothers, spouse support, family support, community support, and awareness. The study determines that that community support, through social support, reduces the stress of mothers with autistic children. The study establishes that the support that affects satisfaction in the community and spousal support. The other factor of satisfaction is community awareness.

The study finds out that the state of spousal support and community awareness can be used to predict satisfaction. Higher spousal support and/or higher community awareness predict higher satisfaction of the mothers with autistic children.