Parental counselling following the diagnosis of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Date
2023
Authors
Hillard, D.
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Journal article
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Counselling Australia, 2023; 24(4):42-48
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David Hillard
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Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is recognised as one of the fastest-growing developmental disabilities, affecting over 1.5 million Americans (Twoy et al., 2007). Furthermore, there has been an increase in eight-year-old children diagnosed with ASD from one in 159 in 2006, to one in 59 in 2018 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). In comparison, equivalent estimates in the Australian context have been one to two per 200 within a similar timeframe (Williams et al., 2008). ASD comprises a range of syndromes that are characterised by difficulties in communication and social interactions, while also possibly including repetitive behaviours, restricted interests and challenges associated with emotion/mood (Fernandez-Alcantara et al., 2016; Gray, 2006). Underlying ASD exists a deficient in Theory of Mind, whereby an individual has trouble perceiving thoughts and feelings that are similar/different in others (Ackerman & Kyuchukov, 2018).
For parents, the diagnosis of a child with ASD has been shown to be felt with the same impact as the death of a child (Fernandez-Alcantra et al., 2016), even though their child is still present and able to function well in various ways. Parents may therefore experience strong feelings of grief as many of the hopes they had for their child are lost, and as they come to terms with this new reality (Krishnan et al., 2017). This grief is due to an ‘ambiguous loss’, as the child is still physically present but is psychologically or emotionally distant (Boss, 1999). That ambiguous loss causes a range of presentations
in family members with cognitive, emotional and/or behavioural elements (Winouker & Harris, 2012) makes it an imperative for counsellors to understand how to effectively work with these families in light of a diagnosis of ASD.
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Free edition
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