Stress Management Strategies for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Stress is a common problem among parents; many studies have shown that those who have children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at a higher level of stress and other mental health problems. In Malaysia, however, most of the available treatments, guidelines and policies from the government are only directed toward the needs of the children, and less consideration is given to the needs of the parents. For example, the Disabled Persons Policy by the Malaysian Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (2016) only focused on the child’s welfare and not the parents. Therefore, it was the main objective of this study to provide stress management strategies for Malaysian parents of children with ASD to minimise their stress. The study involved mixed method design, and it consisted of 2 phases: 1) examining the stress level of parents of children with ASD (quantitative), and 2) developing stress management strategies for parents (qualitative). In Phase 1, Parenting Stress Index Fourth Edition (PSI-4) was distributed to obtain the quantitative data. Meanwhile, in Phase 2, focus group interview were conducted to obtain qualitative data. The study found that stress among parents is reaching toward the high level. The qualitative result of this study had generated various stress management strategies, such as seeking social support, and early intervention.