Exploring mothers' experiences with autism spectrum disorder in Indonesia

• Main Author: Yustinus, Agus
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: Autism spectrum disorders-Indonesia; Mothers of autistic children > Indonesia; Disability Studies; Educational Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_counseling/10; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_counseling/article/1011/viewcontent/Exploring_Mothers_Experiences_With_Autism_Spectrum_Disorder_in_I_Redacted.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

This qualitative multiple case studies aimed to explore mothers' experiences raising children with ASD in Indonesia, where six Indonesian mothers with children with ASD were selected using purposive sampling. Findings revealed that mothers raising children with autism encountered numerous challenges, including physical exhaustion because of the continuous supervision of their child, emotional problems such as denial, sadness, worry about their child's future, and social problems such as social isolation. Furthermore, mothers also had financial issues due to job loss, costly medical treatment, and therapies. To deal with their stressors, mothers adopted various coping strategies in their everyday life. Mothers also shared some positive experiences and hopes that their children will live independently in the future. The findings provide a better understanding of the experiences of mothers raising a child with ASD in Indonesia. They provide empirical support for their advocacy efforts and the need for increased support and services for these families. Keywords: autism, experiences, mothers, diagnosis, challenges, benefits, impacts, hopes