Peculiarities of socialisation of persons with autism spectrum disorders and their families

Abstract

Introduction. The global statistics shows that the incidence of autism is increasing rapidly. According to the UN data, the current prevalence of people with autism spectrum disorders is 67 million worldwide. Thus, the spread of ASD (autism spectrum disorders) is global. ASD is a complex disorder leading to deformation of the carrier’s personality and disruption of his/her socialisation process. This disorder leads to disability of a person with ASD, prevents him/her from getting a high-grade education and his/her integration into the society. The aim of this article is to explore the socialisation features of persons suffering autism spectrum disorder and those of their family members. Materials and methods. The survey, based on the semi-formalised interview method, involved 21 parents (2 fathers and 19 mothers) of children with ASD. The survey was carried out on the basis of an authorly guide. The interview guide comprised the following blocks: constrained social contacts; attitudes towards people with ASD and their families in the society; financial situation of the family; mental health of the parent. Results. The analysis of the interview texts enabled the authors to identify the factors conditioning the process of socialisation of a person diagnosed with ASD and his/her family members: attitudes to people with ASD and their families in the society, curtailed social contacts, social censure and condemnation, presence of stereotypes about autism in the society, features of daily family life, financial situation of the family, psychological state of relatives of a person suffering ASD. Conclusion. The undertaken analysis of secondary data and semi-formalised interview texts revealed that the Russian society is not concerned to provide sufficient and relevant coverage of ASD diagnosis specifics and the life of its carriers, which leads to the formation of social stereotypes in the public Russian space. The most common stereotype is accusing the parents (as concerns the diagnosis as such, poor parenting, improper lifestyle, apathy, “contrived nature of the problem”). The described phenomena lead to the disruption of the socialisation process, incapacitation of parents and enhanced disablement of ASD carriers, reduced opportunities for getting full-fledged education, curtailment of contacts, formation of communication barriers, decreased social activity, withdrawal to social periphery, employment difficulties, mental health disorders, financial problems, etc.