Processor Annette Estes compared 51 mothers of children with autism to 22 mothers whose children had developmental delay. All the children in the study were about three years old. Although many of the developmentally delayed children needed high levels of care, the study indicated that the autistic children caused their parents more psychological stress.
"If a child has more needs in getting dressed and in other daily living skills that means the parents are working harder and seemingly would be under stress," Dr. Estes wrote. "But it is not the hard work that is stressing the mothers. Our findings really pointed to the behavioral problems that can occur with autism. Children with autism had significantly higher levels of problem behaviors than children with developmental delays."
This study appeared in the journal Autism.
Labels: autism, mothers, parents
Posted By: Aspen/CRC