Single Mothers of Autistic Children

Failure in relationships compels some parents to leave a two-parent household and settle on becoming a sole parent (De Vaus & Qu, 2011). There are those who were simply left behind by their partners, while some become single parents by choice or due to the death of a partner. Parenting issues on limited resources, child care, unemployment, lack of support system, psychological trauma, stress and child rearing difficulties interplay with the well being of the parent and the children (AIHW, 2015). Single mothers are often marginalized leading to relatively lower control over their lives, access to resources and at times even stigmatized. Dependency, poverty, vulnerability and feelings of social exclusion are typical experiences of single parents in social marginalization and economic dislocation (Qu & Weston, 2010). The scarcity of resources and negative impact of the burdens in single parenthood on health can inadvertently result to higher health risks and shorter life span (Talbot & Verrinder,

All across the globe, there are children growing up in single-parent households, and through some research

As a teacher who works in a school for children with autism, I have seen first hand how the families are affected by the disability of their child. The parents in my school have shown tremendous strength and support for their children, contributing positively to their quality of life. They come into school and learn how to work with their child, have continuous contact with the teacher, and tremendously help the school with fundraising efforts. I have been lucky enough to see the positive effects that parent support can have on a child with autism, but I am sure that there are many cases that are opposite of this. Having a child with autism does put a great strain on all family members, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

However, by rising to these challenges, custodial single parents develop significant strengths. The positive benefits of being a single parent are that the child receives a lesson in independence. The child sees how strong the one parent is at providing them with everything they need without having to depend on someone else. The parents are showing their children that it is possible to live on their own, have an enjoyable life and take care of others while doing so. The children will know that they are a priority to the parent. When there is a second parent around the house, it can be easy to put responsibility off on them, but when the children see how hard the parent is working for them, they will understand how important they are to their parent. (Dowd, 1997)

In 2002, number of children living with their single parent was 16.5 million (Davidson). The most important thing is that each single-parent family is different from the other. Children who live with a widowed mother will definitely be living a different home life from children with divorced parents or the one whose parents were never married. Children of the parents who were divorced will always have some kind of relationship with parents and parents’ partners. But it is obvious that children from single-parent families face tougher times economically as well as

In another study, research was focused on how the family’s choices, social life, and other activities are affected by that fact that one of their children has autism. This study was performed through 9 families who all had a boy with autism, and these participants provided information through interviews and information about their family life. Some parents along with teachers and other specialists came up for the routine while others allowed their child to be a decision maker in what they wanted. In both cases, it seemed to be a fifty-fifty chance of it being a total success or needing more work. Once a routine was found successful, it became an integrated part of the family life. Parents had other siblings become part of the routines and moved things around in their own lives to help the child have better success

Autism is a severe childhood developmental disorder that gives unusual challenges and struggles to families. Primary caregivers have to re-define their journey of parenthood once their child is diagnosed with autism. Using a phenomenological approach, this study sought to explore and describe primary caregivers’ experiences of having a child with autism spectrum disorder(ASD).Informants in this study were selected using two sampling techniques particularly snowball sampling and purposive sampling. With the use of these following criteria(1)Primary caregivers who is responsible in taking care of care of the child with autism(2)SPED teachers for additional information about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (3)Parents/Guardian and Primary

When people hear Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) they think right away about the child. Does anyone think about the parents of these children and the journey they are about to embark on? Did you? My research will focus on the families of these children and how they are affected by raising an ASD child. How does the stress impact a mother and father, physically, emotionally and mentally? Raising a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of the most difficult challenges a family can face. Do these parents have any hope that society can support them, and their ASD child effectively?

Today, many households are headed by single women raising children, some with the presence or involvement of the father and others without. According to Vargas et al. (2016), parenting by a single mother is defined as a home sustained by a maternal caregiver for many reasons to include absence, neglect, divorce, or death of the other parent. According to Anderson (2002), half of American children at some point in their childhood will live in a household that’s being reared by a single parent, who is primarily the mother. Lowry (2005) uses the term “social disaster” when describing the epidemic of absenteeism of father from the household.

The author argues that a positive experiences of parents raising school-aged children with autism within the context of parenting stress. The author uses a piece of evidence to support this claim. First, when having a flexible or a planned schedule it make caring for the autistic child easy for all. Next, having everyone do their part relieves stress on parent and caregivers. Finally, having a routine schedule can take a huge change in the family.

This journal explains that researchers, such as Amato, have several theories that explain why and how children growing up with single parents have an elevated risk of experiencing problems. Some of these problems include cognitive thinking, social interaction and the emotional well-being of the child. Most of the theories discuss economic and parental resources available to children. They also talk about the stressful events and circumstances to which these children must adapt.

A heart attack, a stroke or a cancer diagnosis causes its members to confront the impact of the illness and re-evaluate their position. These illnesses are often life threatening, but critical intervention leads to a steady rehabilitation and possibly full recovery. This cannot be said, for a family impacted by a diagnosis of autism. Autism is a developmental disability that significantly affects three areas: communication, social interaction, and behavior. Autism being a spectrum disorder impacts each individual differently, leaving each family’s experience difficult to compare. Autism being a communication disability brings serious challenges to a family, as this diagnosis impacts the communication strategies. Parents find

The purpose of this article is to argue the fact that American society has for years looked down upon single mothers as irresponsible and dangerous and that no family structure of any kind can guarantee that children will grow up to be productive citizens. The article brings to light that raising children as a single mom really all depends who you are and instead of criticizing these mothers we should be helping them by providing more resources. 2. Who is the audience for this argument? This article was written for several different audiences.

The first theme identified by the research literature is the importance and breadth of support for the young people on the Autism spectrum; and of that provided for their families.

There is no doubt that raising a child with autism is challenging. There is endless research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but a very limited amount on the costs and benefits of caring for a person with the disorder. In order to gain a comprehensive perspective on the biggest challenges parents and caregivers of autistic children face, a look into the private lives of these families and close networks is necessary. The only way to give support and provide the much needed services required to help, one must ask them what the most difficult parts about managing autism are. Below examines three of the most common struggles these families face when trying to understand and help their autistic children develop into the capable people they are certainly able of becoming.