Skip to main content
FamilyEducation
FamilyEducation
Family Education

FE-Menu

  • Pregnancy
    • <blank>
      • Pregnancy Tracker
      • Trying to Conceive
      • Signs & Symptoms
      • Pregnancy Health
    • <blank>
      • Baby Names
      • High Risk Pregnancies
      • Preparing for Baby
    • <blank>
      • Concerns & Complications
      • Labor & Delivery
      • Postpartum
  • Baby Names
    • <blank>
      • Browse All Baby Names (A-Z)
      • Top Names for Boys
      • Top Names for Girls
      • Baby Name Generator
    • <blank>
      • Baby Name Lists & Ideas
      • First Names By Origin
      • Browse All Last Names (A-Z)
      • Last Names by Origin
  • Babies
    • <blank>
      • Caring For Your Baby
      • Baby's Health
      • Feeding Your Baby
    • <blank>
      • Your Baby and Sleep
      • Baby's Growth & Development
      • Baby Hygiene
    • <blank>
      • Baby Safety
      • Baby Products
    • <blank>
  • Toddlers
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Growth and Development
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Behavior and Discipline
    • <blank>
      • Your Toddler and Sleep
  • Kids
    • <blank>
      • Health
      • Childhood Development
      • Fitness & Nutrition
      • Childhood Safety
    • <blank>
      • Communicating with Your Kids
      • Childhood Behavior and Discipline
      • Fostering Responsibility
      • Instilling Values & Manners
    • <blank>
      • Childcare
      • Neurodiversity in Kids
      • Adopting Children
  • Teens
    • <blank>
      • Teen Health
      • Teen Puberty & Sex
    • <blank>
      • Behavior & Discipline
      • Teen Social Development
    • <blank>
      • Values & Responsibilities
  • Activities
    • <blank>
      • Printables
      • Indoor Activities
      • Learning Activities
      • Arts and Crafts
      • Performing Arts
      • Food Activities
      • Outdoor Activities
    • <blank>
      • Books
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Online
      • Quizzes
      • Games
      • Celebrities
    • <blank>
      • Parties
      • Travel
      • Toys
      • Holidays
      • Gifts
  • Learning
    • <blank>
      • By Grade
      • By Subject
      • College
      • Preschool
    • <blank>
      • Back to School
      • Study Skills
      • Learning Styles
    • <blank>
      • Homeschooling
      • Parental Involvement
      • Your Child's School
  • Family Life
    • <blank>
      • Mom Life
      • Dad Life
      • Family Relationships
      • Having a Healthy Marriage
      • Divorce
    • <blank>
      • Health & Fitness
      • COVID Resources
      • Managing Your Home
      • Moving Your Family
      • Pets
    • <blank>
      • Family Finances
      • Work
      • Families and Food
  • NewslettersNewsletters
    Newsletters

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Kids
  3. Neurodiversity in Kids
  4. Autism
  5. Dealing With The Emotional, Physical, And Financial Burdens Of Autism

 

 

Dealing with the Emotional, Physical, and Financial Burdens of Autism

This article examines the emotional, physical, and financial stresses that parents often experience after their child is diagnosed with autism.
  • facebook share icon
  • pin
  • twitter share icon
  • email share icon
  • Print page icon

In this article, you will find:

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6

Page 1

Dealing with the Emotional, Physical, and Financial Burdens of Autism

Of all the questions that parents have during the first few months – or years – after their child has been diagnosed with autism, the one that they may wonder about the most but ask the least is probably, "Will I ever sleep soundly again?" The stress of having a child with a disability is unfathomable: you don't know what the future holds, you don't know whether you're making the right choices, you don't know if you can continue to handle the craziness of your days, and you often don't know how you're going to pay for all the special services your child now needs. Add to that the exhaustion of those sleepless nights, and you've got people who are under an overwhelming amount of stress.

Interestingly, mothers and fathers of kids with special needs tend to have different areas of stress – moms feel more stress related to caring for their children and worrying about their progress, while dads often feel more stress related to finances and the burden of paying for special services. They also often deal with their stress differently – women find some release in talking about it, but men tend to find relief in action. For example, say a clerk in a store asks a family to leave because their child is having a tantrum and it's disturbing the other customers. The mom would probably want to spend an evening talking to a good friend or relative about how embarrassed she was – just talking about it serves as a release for her. But the dad is more likely to feel like he has to take action – he may well insist on making a phone call to chew out the store manager. Because of this basic difference in approach, spouses can lose patience with each other, so you can add marital stress to an already long list of problem areas.

No matter what kinds of support families find, it's difficult to alleviate all parental stress when the child has a disability. And I don't mean the stress that any parent has. I mean clinical levels of stress that can actually lead to ill health – parents of children with autism report more health problems than other parents their age. And without help and action for their child, many can feel less energetic, and some can even lose interest in sex.

Below, I'll describe the areas of stress most likely to affect parents of children with autism and make some suggestions for coping with them. Remember: my advice is no replacement for good psychological support from a professional, a good friend, a family member, or a parent group, so please seek this out if you're feeling overwhelmed and frightened.

The Stress of Wondering About the Future
Of all the fears that keep a parent awake at night, concern about her child's future – how well her child will ultimately be able to function in the real world – is probably the biggest one.

Many children with autism do not perform well on standardized tests, and many professionals, especially in the schools, base much of their analysis on how the child performs on those tests, so the picture a parent gets of his child's cognitive abilities is often bleaker than it needs to be.

A helpful thing to focus on when thinking about cognitive levels is the brain's plasticity. Many children who have suffered from a stroke, gunshot wound, or other severe brain trauma are able to fully recover by developing neural pathways around the damaged areas. Our goal is to help children with autism do the exact same thing. We haven't yet met a child with autism who couldn't learn with good sound interventions.

Next: Page 2

What's hot

  • Attention Seeking Behaviors KidsHow to Handle an Attention-…
  • an age-by-age guide to teaching kids about "the birds & the bees" KidsAn Age-by-Age Guide to…
  • How to stop bullying KidsHow to Stop Bullying: Real…
  • Treating Burns KidsFirst Aid For Burns: How to…
NewslettersNewsletters
Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.
Family Education
FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found here.

FE Footer

  • Newsletter Center
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Editorial Team
  • Expert Panel
  • Cookie Policy
  • Site Map
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info (for CA Residents)
sandbox learning logo
Family Education is part of the Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites for parents, teachers, and students. 

factmonster logoinfoplease logoTeacherVision logo

sandbbox logo
©2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. Sandbox Learning is part of Sandbox & Co., a digital learning company.