Family Support
Family social support or resources include supports presently used by the family and additional supports that are accessible to the family when a family crisis occurs (McCubbin & Patterson, 1983). If the child with autism exhibits low adaptive behaviors or maladaptive behaviors, families may require additional emotional, mental, and physical support (Myers, Johnson, the Council on Children with Disablities, 2007). Parents reported that their primary social support came from their informal support network that included their spouses, partners, neighbors, family, and friends (Myers et al., 2007). Parents provide mixed reports related to the assistance from health care providers and their knowledge base related to assisting their child and family. In addition to social resources, the costs of not only the diagnostic evaluation of their child, but also the treatments, are substantial (Hall & Graff, 2010).
Parental Stress