The Effects of Autism on Children and Their Families

            
             This paper explains the effects of autism on children and their families. Children with autism have trouble interacting with other people, but early intervention can sometime alleviate the trouble. Although parents of children with autism spend much of their time finding support for their disabled children, they must also find time for themselves and their other children. These so-called normal children can be aversely affected both emotionally and mentally. Some of these effects can be caused minor autism within their genetic makeup, but other effects, such as stress, are purely based on dealing with a handicapped sibling. Parents, especially mothers, feel stressed and are susceptible to depression and poor health. I will also be doing further research on the effects on younger siblings of children with autism.
             The Effects of Autism on Children and Their Families.
             There is no question that autism affects the whole family. What studies have been trying to prove for the past few decades is exactly how the child with autism and his family affect each other. Every relationship in the family changes once a child with autism enters the picture. Husbands and wives fight, parents and children are at odds with each other, and siblings must learn how to interact with children who are not like themselves. Six studies from 1995 up to 2003 have examined the complex relationships among members in autism families. They focused specifically on parents" interventions in sibling interaction, the adjustment of the non-autistic siblings, the effects of stress on the mothers, and cognitive abilities of non-autistic siblings.
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             Most parents are ill-equipped to deal with an emotionally handicapped child. Mothers of children with autism have reported higher stress levels than mothers of children with other developmental disabilities like Down syndrome. In fact, both parents of autistic children reported the highest levels of stress compared to parents of children with other developmental disabilities, but because most of the parenting falls to the mothers, they are also at an increased risk for depression.