In
contrast to the large body of research on mothers, there has been little
research on fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Greater involvement of
fathers in caring for their children with autism may be especially important,
as previous research has shown that mothers of autistic children often
experience higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety than other mothers.
A study conducted at the University of Illinois found that fathers
who read to their infants with autism and take active roles in caregiving
activities not only promote healthy development in their children, they improve
mothers’ mental health as well.
Research
The study examined the longitudinal association between fathers’ early involvement in routine caregiving, literacy, play, and responsive caregiving activities at 9 months and maternal depressive symptoms at 4 years. Data for 3,550 children and their biological parents were drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, including 50 children with autism spectrum disorders and 650 children with other disabilities. Information was collected on mothers' well-being and fathers' involvement in several parenting activities: literacy; play; routine caregiving, such as bathing; and responsive caregiving. Analyses examined whether the association between father involvement and maternal depressive symptoms differed for families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and for families of children with other disabilities or delays from families of children who were typically developing.
Results indicated that father literacy and responsive caregiving
involvement were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms for
mothers of children with ASD. Mothers of children with
autism reported fewer depressive symptoms when their children were 4 years old
if the child's father engaged in literacy and responsive caregiving activities
such as comforting children when they were upset or taking the child
to the doctor when the child was 9 months old.
Implications
Fathers who read to their children, or respond when the child cries, can give the mothers respite, enabling mothers to perform other tasks or engage in self-care activities that improve their mood and reduce stress, commented lead author Daniel J. Laxman. "One of the key criteria of autism is difficulty with communication, which may explain why these children's mothers are especially susceptible to stress and depression," Laxman said. "It can be very frustrating for parents -- and upsetting for children -- when children struggle with communication. If fathers are reading to their kids, telling stories or singing songs, it is going to be very beneficial for the child's development of communication skills and learning words. By improving children's communication skills, fathers' literacy activities may help alleviate some of the mothers' concerns and stress related to these problems."
"Prior research and
work by early interventionists has focused solely on mothers' parenting of
their children with autism, reflecting societal expectations that fathers are
less involved, said co-author Brent A. McBride. "In family systems that
include children with autism, the stressors are huge, and mothers need all the
support they can grasp. Whether it comes from the child's father, their social
network or online resources, mothers need additional support to be able to
continue functioning in an effective way. We, as a society, have to ask men to
become involved, and it's very important that men fully understand the reasons
why their support and active engagement in parenting is so critical for the
family's functioning and for the child." Training and professional
development opportunities must be made available to early interventionists and
other professionals who work with families, so they can find ways to get
fathers more involved in parenting activities.
Source:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Dads' parenting
of children with autism improves moms' mental health: Fathers' engagement in
literacy, caregiving activities reduces mothers' depression, stress."
ScienceDaily, 14 July 2015.
Journal Reference:
Daniel J. Laxman, Brent A. McBride, Laurie M. Jeans, W. Justin
Dyer, Rosa M. Santos, Justin L. Kern, Niwako Sugimura, Sarah L. Curtiss, Jenna
M. Weglarz-Ward. Father Involvement and Maternal Depressive Symptoms in
Families of Children with Disabilities or Delays. Maternal and Child
Health Journal, 2014; 19 (5): 1078 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-014-1608-7
Lee A. Wilkinson, PhD, is a licensed
and nationally certified school psychologist, and
certified cognitive-behavioral therapist. He is author of the
award-winning books, A Best Practice Guide to Assessment and Intervention for
Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Schools and Overcoming Anxiety and Depression on the Autism Spectrum:
A Self-Help Guide Using CBT. He is also editor of
a text in the APA School Psychology Book Series, Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Adolescents: Evidence-Based
Assessment and Intervention in Schools. His
latest book is A Best Practice Guide to Assessment and Intervention for
Autism Spectrum Disorder in Schools (2nd Edition).
© 2018 Lee A. Wilkinson, PhD
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