Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe developmental condition which refers to a social communication difficulty characterized by repetitive behaviors and restricted patterns which negatively affect everyday activities. (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). From research findings this disorder has grown rapidly. It is now affecting at least 1 in every 88 children (Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 2012). Autism has become a national priority for the past decade and it now receives worldwide attention (Autism Speaks, 2014). The Autism Society (2014) established April as National Autism Awareness Month (NAMM) to increase autism understanding while highlighting the continuous need for family support and information and resilience for autism-affected families. Many families experience difficulties in understanding autism diagnosis and household modifications because of the illness’s severity (Greef & van der Walt, 2010). The effective adaptation of Families and autism depends on identifying their resilience features and learning how to improve their outcomes while providing supportive resources.
Factors that Enhance Resilience in Families
The understanding of why autism-affected families succeed differently from those who face adverse effects in multiple family domains remains essential (Bayat, 2007). The construct of resilience as adaptive behavior during major life changes has become important for autism research because of growing recognition about multiple family resilience factors (Fenning & Baker, 2012). The diagnosis of autism in a child leads to changes in family relationships and responsibilities and creates stress and conflict which requires psychological adjustments for the entire family (van der Walt, 2006). The ability of resilient families to handle family challenges and changes remains higher than other families.
Multiple elements work together to build resilience which enables families to grow stronger when they adapt to having autism in their system (Plumb, 2011). The following section analyzes three key variables which include family dynamics together with family strengths and community support. Family resilience emerges when families develop practices to handle challenging situations which strengthen their family bond (Greef & van der Walt, 2011). Family routines serve as one important system in family management operations. People with autism need rigid schedules which makes any deviation from their routine patterns cause disruption throughout their family system. The family experiences fewer negative consequences and dedicates more time to each member when they maintain a close connection to their established routines. The independence of autistic youngsters can be enhanced through effective strategies. Family support for child learning along with independent functionality development strengthens adaptation and resilience among the family unit.
Families with strong belief in hope and faith or spiritual traditions tend to demonstrate better resilience patterns.
Family resilience in autism requires families to concentrate on their core characteristics according to Plumb (2011). According to Greef and van der Walt (2011) families need both everyday positive affect and passive evaluation to thrive. The frequency of positive daily interactions between parents and children creates stress protection according to Bayat (2007) and Ekas and Whitman (2011). Family adaptation becomes more intense after accepting an autism diagnosis. Families who successfully interpret the life adjustments related to autism tend to view their child more positively and recognize these changes as beneficial learning opportunities. The acceptance adaptation process depends on two essential elements which are strength and compassion.
A publication by (Bayat, 2007), puts it on that families who develop strength and compassion alongside unselfishness and heightened sensitivity toward others after welcoming a family member with Autism maintain better family health. Working together with devotion creates additional power.
Moreover, families using mutual effort exhibit better capabilities to discover new skills while creating stronger emotional bonds. Strong family communication leads to better functioning routines among family members. Communication needs to remain smooth so every family member can have their requirements heard.
According to (Plumb, 2011), the development of resilience depends on community support together with available resources. The concept of support includes social support together with vocational and educational as well as medical support services. It also, include help from other autism families. As depicted from (Greef & van der Walt, 2011), families who demonstrate resilience tend to search for information to handle changes in their family structure. The adjustment process represents positive development which simultaneously enhances understanding of the condition and effective support methods for the child.
How can you Build Resilience for a Stronger Family Outcome?
In recent times, family resilience studies have transformed into an asset-based method to support families reach improved results and healthier system operations. The Autism Now (2014), Autism Family Online (2014), and Autism Speaks (2014) have dedicated themselves to identifying elements that strengthen family resilience. These elements aim to enhance the three domains of family resilience namely the relationships, strengths and community support.
Family Dynamics
Below are some of the family dynamics that can help build resilience for stronger family outcome.
- Recognize everyone in the family.
Recognizing everyone in the family is key to ensuring that family members with autism feel important and part of the family. Siblings to those family members with autism should contribute to caretaking needs and this should be recognized.
- Focus on compassionate nature and positive attributes.
Different strengths exist in various ways. Family members should recognize that some members possess superior abilities for crisis management and educational instruction. Many kinds of compassionate actions exist while sustaining their power beyond household boundaries. A sibling who provides assistance to family members develops empathy toward others because of their personal experience with autism.
- Consider working together as a family.
Members of the family should adjust their responsibilities and suit to the needs and should communicate the needs of all family members to each other.
- Emphasize dedication and connectedness.
One thing that you should emphasize on as a family is dedication and connectedness. You should maintain adaptable communication while addressing all situations together and finding enjoyable ways to interact with each other as a family.
- Find the best way of reinforcing your mental coping mechanisms.
Family therapy serves as a tool to shift parental focus toward positive child interactions while implementing positive reappraisal methods. To fulfill the demands of parents and children, stress-reducing measures becomes unavoidable. Such measures include assisting parents to obtain personal time alone and together while providing stress reduction techniques and relaxation therapy to reduce their stress levels.
Conclusion
The experience of autism creates overwhelming challenges for families to handle. The belief that autism as a stressor prevents families from achieving optimal functioning proves false. The ability of families to adapt to life changes depends on their resilience in order to handle the various difficulties they encounter. This family system displays resilience because of its ability to adapt through family relationships and the support of their network members. Weakening challenges while family members enhance their resilience capabilities to achieve healthy adaptations coupled with successful family operations.
