Resilience intervention for families of autistic children : reviewing the literature

Kotera, Y; Pope, M; Chircop, J; Kirkman, A; Bennett-Viliardos, LA; Sharaan, S

Abstract

: Given the rising diagnostic rates of autism, it is imperative to investigate
the well-being of families with autistic children. Families of autistic children report
more mental health difficulties than families of typically developing children.
Resilience is identified as a key protective factor for mental health difficulties in
many populations, and research suggests that this construct is effective for coping
with mental health difficulties in families of autistic children. However, reviews
on resilience interventions for families of autistic children are lacking.
Accordingly, this paper aims to report (a) common mental health difficulties that
families of autistic children experience, (b) how resilience may reduce mental
health difficulties, (c) interventions to enhance resilience in families of autistic
children, and (d) discuss implications for practice and future research. Our review
identified that mental distress resulting from feelings of uncertainty and
helplessness following a diagnosis, in addition to caregiving stressors, is especially
common among families of autistic children. Enhancing resilience is suggested to
reduce those difficulties by tapping into strengths related to various positive
psychological resources such as internal locus of control, positive cognitive
appraisal, acceptance and self-efficacy. Interventions such as Dance Movement
Psychotherapy and spirituality-based approaches, are deemed especially helpful to
families of autistic children. However, research in this area is still underdeveloped, and there is a pressing need to build a more rigorous evidence base.
Findings reviewed in the current work can aid families of autistic children,
healthcare practitioners, and researchers to support the mental wellbeing of
families of autistic children, which in turn would support the wellbeing of autistic
children.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 13, 2021
• Online Publication Date: May 24, 2021
• Publication Date: May 24, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jun 2, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 2, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Concurrent Disorders
• Electronic ISSN: 2562-7546
• Publisher URL: https://concurrentdisorders.ca/2021/05/26/resilience-intervention-for-families-of-autistic-children-reviewing-the-literature/
• Related Public URLs: https://concurrentdisorders.ca/current-issue/