This just in - being the parent of a child on the spectrum can wear you out. And here I thought I was tired all of the time just because I was getting old...
But in all seriousness, it is a good thing that some people are taking the stress involved with raising a child on the spectrum seriously. There are many families out there that are being literally crushed under the weight of trying to deal with autism and could really use some extra help.
Fatigue, Wellbeing and Parental Self-Efficacy in Mothers of Children With an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Autism. 2011 Jul 25. [Epub ahead of print]
Giallo R, Wood CE, Jellett R, Porter R.
Parenting Research Centre, Australia.
Abstract
Raising a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) presents significant challenges for parents that potentially have a impact on their health and wellbeing. The current study examined the extent to which parents experience fatigue and its relationship to other aspects of wellbeing and parenting. Fifty mothers of children with an ASD aged 2-5 years participated in the study. Compared with mothers of typically developing children, mothers of children with an ASD reported significantly higher fatigue, with overall scores in the moderate range. Factors associated with high levels of fatigue were poor maternal sleep quality, a high need for social support and poor quality of physical activity. Fatigue was also significantly related to other aspects of wellbeing, including stress, anxiety and depression, and lower parenting efficacy and satisfaction. The need for interventions to specifically target parental fatigue and its impact on families affected by ASDs both in the short and long term is clearly indicated.
PMID: 21788255
I could definitely relate to this at one time, but because my son is mildly afflicted (maybe), I just refuse the sweat the small stuff any more.
ReplyDeleteTrying to change the future is very exhausting. I don't mean to offend anyone, it's just proven true in my case.
There is certainly something to the idea that your stress level goes down over time. We are a lot less fatigued and stressed now than we were a year ago, or the year before that.
ReplyDeleteI think a large part of it is that we have learned better ways of deal with our children's challenging behaviors as well as the fact that our children's behaviors have gone down with time. Although I have to say that when they go through their not-sleeping phase every six weeks or so, we are definitely tired.
I have to wonder though what happens when the behaviors don't decrease or you can't find any way of dealing with it. That would get extremely wearing as the years went by.
>>>I have to wonder though what happens when the behaviors don't decrease or you can't find any way of dealing with it. That would get extremely wearing as the years went by.<<<
ReplyDeleteI wonder, too.