Support for families of Autistic Adults

This is a table from The health and social care needs of family carers supporting adults with autistic spectrum disorders (Mark Burton 2005)

?The author reports how compared with parents looking after children with ASDs where support was typically available from grandparents (cf. Bromley et al., 2004), the majority of participants in this study had very little support in supporting their autistic adults.

The majority of respondents had no support from many areas and relied on support from statutory agencies, and college and day services. It appears that a majority of respondents said that friends were ‘not available, it transpired that this was often to avoid burdening friends with worries and concerns.

This and other studies looking into the quality of support people receive whilst caring for someone with chronic and complex needs, have found that whilst support is important if not crucial for one's health and well-being, the kind of support one receives can be equally or more important in how well someone copes with their responsibilities of caring & supporting someone.

Too much support or support of the wrong kind can be as bad as not having enough. For example, overly protective family support has been associated with increased disability and reliance. Further, if the efforts of a social support network become annoying, disruptive, or interfering, they may increase stress and intensify psychological problems (Pagel, Erdley & Becker, 1987).

Supporting an autistic adult? Want to get more support with supporting your autistic adult and learn ways to manage your own health and well-being to manage stress and strain? Join our new?Facebook Support Group: Living with Autistic Adults

Host of?Living with Autistic Adults; a support group for family/partners of adults on the autistic spectrum to enhance coping skills and resilience for improving quality of life, health and well-being.