PARENTAL PERSPECTIVE OF ASD EARLY DETECTION PROBLEMS AND COPING MECHANISM

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder, appeared in early childhood. The need to have early identification is important to reduce the difficulties of the ASD person and bring positive impact on the well-beings of the caregivers. Problems in early detection of ASD, however, lead to the development of negative impact on the parental well-beings and increase levels of stress among parents to engage in low quality of life. The current study aimed to explore the experiences of parents with ASD children in early detection problems and their coping skills, living with the challenges. The purpose of this study was to identify the problems in early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from the parental perspective and how the problems could be managed throughout life experiences. A semi-structured interview was conducted to 5 selected parents, age ranging from 30 to 45 years, with ASD children aged 3 to 5 years, using a purposive sampling procedure. Thematic Analysis enabled the identification of key components of early detection problems and the coping mechanisms as the generated themes for the study. The finding from the two research questions was identified across the generated themes; 1) Parental negligence, lacking knowledge and awareness, Feeling sensibility, Societal judgment, Familial relation problem, 2) Positive mindset, Self-encouragement, Family support, Social support, Treatment and services, School placement. Research Implications for the improvement of the problems and development of interventions were also discussed across these themes.