Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of recreational activities and sports on the quality of life of the mothers of autistic children. The population of this study is the mothers of autistic children living in Isparta. A total of twenty (20) mothers were chosen using random sampling method and split into control and application groups with equal number of samples (10). Mothers in the application group attended a fifteen (15) days program with 8 hours of specially planned activities per day. The activities consisted of nature walks, trips to historical and artistic sites and social tours (zoo, historical ruins, picnic etc.) as well as sportive activities (swimming). WHOQOL-BREF (TR) Quaility of Life Assessment Instrument was used as a pre-test before the study and as a post-test after the study for evaluating the results of the study. Results were analyzed using SPSS statistical analysis software. Mean rank differences of independent variables between groups and mean differences within groups were compared using a non-parametric test. The alpha level for Type 1 errors was 0.05 (α=0.05). The results revealed a statistically significant difference between the mothers of autistic children in the control and the application groups and the quality of life of the mothers in the application group increased (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in quality of life of the mothers in the control group (p>0.05). Therefore, specially planned recreational and sportive activities improved the quality of life of the mothers with autistic children. The fact that no significant difference was observed in the control group can be due to the community of the mothers’ daily workload.
Highlights
The term “autism” was first defined by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner in 1943 (Aydın & Özgen, 2018)
Autism or autism spectrum disorder is a complex developmental disability that is characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors and difficulty in verbal and nonverbal communication (Harnois, 2016; DSM-V, autismspeaks.org, 2019; Greespan & Wieder, 2017)
Most of the parents with children in autism spectrum disorder hope new treatments, programs and resources which can positively affect the quality of life of their children will be developed (Garrett, 2014)
Summary
The term “autism” was first defined by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner in 1943 (Aydın & Özgen, 2018). When a new member enters the family changes in family relations occur It causes changes in expectations of spouses from each other, their occupations, immediate surroundings in short: every aspect of life. Most of the parents with children in autism spectrum disorder hope new treatments, programs and resources which can positively affect the quality of life of their children will be developed (Garrett, 2014). Economic burden of treatment and economic problems, exhaustion in parents caused by restricted social life, problems with other children in the family, fears of parents about neglecting their child, problems with education of autistic children, raising the child and problems related to it often come up (Çam & Özkan, 2009).
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