Parental Resilience in Families of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Parenting children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be challenging, demanding, and overwhelming to parents and families. Understanding parental resilience can help develop appropriate support for parents of children with ASD and their families. This article discusses parental resilience by exploring what is known about parental resilience in families of children with ASD and examining factors that may contribute to parental resilience for practitioners to work on with these parents. This article focuses on three strong predictors of parental resilience in families of children with ASD: (a) locus of control of parents, (b) cognitive appraisal of parents, and (c) informal support for families. Implications for practitioners to help parents build resilience from the above three aspects are discussed.