The Parenting Process Of Young Children With Autism

The purpose of this study is to explore the family's parenting stress,coping adjustment,the significance of parenting young children with autism,and the expectations of families for young children with autism during the process of parenting.The researcher used a qualitative research method to conduct semi-structured in-depth interviews with 6 parents of young children with autism and keep reflexive observation as the supplement and evidence of the main body research in the whole research process.In the end,nineteen interview records and ten research notes were obtained.To analyze data,a three-level coding method,based on an established grounded theory,has been employed.Finally,observing the process of parenting preschoolers with autism lead to five common themes: multiple stress,complex psychological experience,coping adjustment,personal growth,family strengths.And the results show that:First,the parenting stress of families of young children with autism mainly comes from three aspects: resource problems,children-related problems and social resistance.In the undiscovered period,the family did not suffer from any stress.In the discovery period,the pressure of family of young children with autism begin to appear.During the diagnosis period,the pressure of family of young children with autism increased gradually.In the treatment and intervention period,the pressure of family of young children with autism is the heaviest.In the preparatory period for school,the pressure of family of young children with autism has been alleviated to some extent.Second,parents feel complex and strong emotional experience,and with a diverse mix of positive and negative emotions.In the undiscovered period,parents are thrilled.In the discovery period,negative emotions and positive emotions emerge one after another.During the diagnosis period,the parents' emotions were negative on the whole,but at the later stage of diagnosis,the parents began to pick up.In the treatment and intervention period,the fluctuation of parents' mood eased.At first,with the progress of young children with autism,parents begin to feel better after adjusting the intervention methods.During the preparatory period for school,parents showed more positive emotions,and their mood fluctuated little.Third,families engage in problem-solving and emotional regulation to cope with stress.In the undiscovered period,families did not use any strategies.In the discovery period,families begin to use coping strategies,and ask for help from relatives/friends of a single family.During the diagnosis period,families continue to use coping strategies and turn help from doctors/psychologists and other professionals.In the treatment and intervention period,family use coping strategies most frequently,the number of people is further expanded,and they also take the initiative to learn various intervention knowledge and skills.During the preparatory period for school,the coping strategies used by families mainly serve for children's school readiness,and most of them are implemented by parents themselves.Next,family strengths play a positive role in the coping adjustment of families of young children with autism,which mainly consists of three factors: positive family beliefs,positive traits of parents and social support.In the undiscovered period,parents have positive expectations for typical developmental young children,overcome the difficulties of raising typical developmental children,and get support from their families.In the discovery period,parents actively expect their children to catch up with their peers;search for knowledge about autism,realize the importance of education;and get support from their families.During the diagnosis period,parents recover quickly and still think that their children have potential;seek diagnosis and resources to obtain evaluation opinions;and get support from family members,doctors,professors and experts.During the period of intervention treatment,parents hold optimistic expectations for their children when saw their children's progress;adjusted the family organization model and changed the intervention program;and received support from family members,teachers,other parents and friends.During thepreparatory period for school,parents are grateful for adversity and look forward to the improvement of children after school;select and implement intervention programs suitable for children,and received support from family members,teachers,other parents and friends.Finally,families have also grown up in parenting process: parents are more knowledgeable,more skilled and more willing;the whole family has become warmer and more cohesive.In the undiscovered period,the family does not change.During the period of discovery and diagnosis,parents' knowledge,skills and willingness improved,couples became more intimate,and families grow up initially.During the period of intervention and treatment,parents' knowledge,skills and willingness improved further,family relations gradually warmed up with the progress of autistic children,and families develop in an all-round way.During the preparatory period for school,all aspects of parents are more stable,family members become more warm and united,and family development has entered a mature stage.In the end,this study tries to make suggestions from three aspects: adjust actively within the family,providing an inclusive environment for educational institutions,and multi-support from the government,in order to provide some directions for improving the family plight of autistic children,and to establish and improve effective support systems as soon as possible.