Parenting of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Grounded Theory Study

Abstract

Background: Parenting a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves several processes and emotions during this transition. In addition to the family’s natural transition when a child is born, the family of a child with ASD has to deal with the particularities of the disability, its characteristics, and its evolution. Methods: This is a qualitative grounded theory study aiming to deepen the knowledge about the process of parenting children with ASD. Data were collected using interviews and observations of nine couples and one single mother. Results: Coding and analysis led to the main theme, which is as follows: parenting of children with ASD as representative of the parents’ transformation while caring for the child, also based on adaptation throughout this experience. Conclusions: Parenting is a dynamic process, grounded on the interaction of different contexts, such as family, education, health, and society, and on the co-construction of different times and episodes. These characteristics underline the complex and individual nature of parenting children with autism, which requires specific assessments and interventions by nurses when caring for these families, whether in a family nursing context, community nursing, and pediatric nursing or midwifery.