Family Therapy and Autism Spectrum Disorders

          

            When a child is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), do the parents typically receive a recommendation for family counseling to help them cope with the stressors associated with raising a child with ASD?  In my personal experience, my husband and I did not receive a recommendation for family counseling services when our son was diagnosed with ASD.  Perhaps the diagnosing psychologists only concern themselves with recommendations that are specific to the child’s ASD diagnosis, or maybe they assume that the family will determine on their own whether or not family therapy is necessary.  Admittedly, it seems like a logical step for the family to take on their own—only that logic is nowhere to be found when you are fully immersed in numerous therapies, worry for the child’s future, as well as compensating non-ASD siblings with individualized attention.   Because research has shown that raising a child with ASD is psychologically distressing (as cited in Pottie & Ingram, 2008), it is my opinion that  code 3.04 (Avoiding Harm) implies that it is unethical to neglect making the recommendation that family therapy is sought at some point to assist with coping and psychological well-being, should it become necessary. 

    

Will Coping Strategies Eliminate the Need For Family Therapy?

            It may sound a little far-fetched that not recommending family therapy could be harmful; but consider when one or more family members naturally resort to negative coping strategies such as blaming, worrying, or withdrawal coping (Pottie & Ingram, 2008).  Pottie and Ingram suggest that negative coping strategies increases daily negative moods, which in turn will affect the family unit. (In my experience, my worrying has never benefitted anyone in my family).  Some families instinctively resort to positive coping strategies when dealing with the stressors associated with raising a child with ASD.  Pottie and Ingram (2008) identified five positive parental coping strategies that correlate with increased positive moods.  The strategies include, “being problem-focused, seeking social support, positive reframing, emotional regulation, and compromised coping” (Pottie & Ingram, 2008, p. 861).  While these coping strategies are beneficial to the child and parent’s psychological well-being, it is likely they will not eliminate the effects of the stressors families face when rearing a child with ASD. 

The Need for Family Therapy 

             In the article titled “Autism – It’s a Family Thing” Sicile-Kira (2010) cites Bolman’s (2006) findings that divorce rate among parents of children with ASD are in the 80% range.  Sicile-Kira (2010) suggests several reasons that serve as the source of marital tension:

• ·         Parents may grieve over the child they cannot reach.

• ·         Difficulties obtaining diagnosis and services.

• ·         Child’s entrance into adolescence and adulthood.

• ·         Lack of time to devote to marriage due to the time needed to support the child’s needs.

• ·         Propensity for one parent to become the “autism expert” while the other devotes more time to work or chooses to opt out. 

• ·         Different opinions of how the child should be helped.

• ·         General stressors of dealing with autism may wedge parents apart.  Those stressors include the constant need to advocate at school, financial stress over necessary therapies, and handling the child’s behaviors at home.

• ·         Mothers tend to add guilt to their mounting stressors by wondering what they did wrong during their pregnancy to cause ASD in their child (Sicile-Kira, 2010).

In spite of the numerous causes of marital tension among parents of children with ASD, very few reach out for help from a family counselor (Sicile-Kira, 2010).  Sicile-Kira (2004) suggests that a major reason parents don’t consider counseling is because of the added stress of finding a care-giver who is capable of handling the needs of their child with ASD (as cited in Sicile-Kira, 2010).  When left unchecked, the stress and tension can affect the parents’ communication and positive relationship, thus harming the well-being of the entire family (Sicile-Kira, 2010).  

References

Pottie, C. G., & Ingram, K. M. (2008). Daily stress, coping, and well-being in parents of children with autism: A multilevel modeling approach. Journal Of Family Psychology, 22(6), 855-864. doi:10.1037/a0013604

Sicile-Kira, C. (2010, March 26).  Autism - It's a Family Thing. Retrieved December 1, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-autism-advocate/201003/autism-its-family-thing