Experiences of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders in the face of the multitude of opinions concerning the knowledge and practices of autism

• Authors: Drabata, Agnieszka

Abstracts

EN

Despite the progress that has been made in recent years in diagnosing autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and in approaches towards problems faced by people with autism and their families, we still lack a uniform theory concerning this issue. When we focus on financing studies aimed at finding potential causes of the disorder and risk factors for its occurrence, we reinforce the belief that autism is a modern problem which could be solved if only we discovered something that always seems so close. Authors and supporters of various treatment methods guarantee their effectiveness which is supposed to be measured by “recovery” from autism. The desire to find a “cure” for autism leads to a determined search for the best intervention in order “to heal” the child with ASD. Nowadays, parents can access different models to interpret their children's difficult behaviors, and they are the ones responsible for choosing from the multitude of solutions available. Choosing a doctor and a treatment method, seeking experts – these are the main activities for parents of children with ASD. How mothers experience the challenge of “navigating” in the pluralistic world of medical and non-medical practices in order to improve the functioning of their child is the subject of this article.

Keywords

EN

autism spectrum disorders; autism therapies; experiences of mothers of children with autism

• Publisher: Akademia Pedagogiki Specjalnej im. Marii Grzegorzewskiej. Wydawnictwo APS
• Journal: Szkoła Specjalna
• Year: 2019
• Volume: LXXX(5)
• Pages: 340-351

Dates

published

2019-12-13

Contributors

author

Drabata, Agnieszka

Identifiers

DOI

10.5604/01.3001.0013.6412