Service and support use of families of preschoolers with autism and other developmental disabilities: More similar than different?

Background:

Research has consistently found that parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DDs) report experiencing more parenting stress than parents of children without disabilities. It has been suggested that services and supports may help parents cope with this stress. It has been noted clinically that parents of children with ASDs tend to feel more connectedness, and may be more likely to become involved in certain types of support than parents of children with DD. 

Objectives:

The goal of the current study was to compare the reported service and support use of parents of children with ASD and DD, while examining other variables that may contribute to support use.

Methods:

Nineteen parents of preschoolers with ASD, 10 parents of preschoolers with other DDs, and 17 parents of children without disabilities participated in this study through telephone interviews.

Results:

Parents of children with ASD and DD reported more parenting stress, and had children with lower adaptive behaviour scores and more maladaptive behaviour than parents of children without disabilities; however, the ASD and DD groups did not differ significantly on these variables. Parents of children with ASD and DD did not differ significantly in the number of direct services they reported using.  Interestingly, more parents of children with ASD reported using parent support groups, than parents of children with DD. 

Conclusions:

Further research is required to investigate the factors contributing to involvement in or development of parent support groups for families of children with disabilities.