Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) encompasses a group of life-long neurodevelopmental disorders. It is an enormous challenge to care for someone with ASD. The majority of people with ASD will need life-long support from family members and will not be able to function independently in society. This places emotional and financial strain on a family. There are many low-income families in South Africa with autistic children who cannot afford specialised intervention. It has been estimated that 135 000 autistic children are not getting the specialized education they need. Despite not receiving the needed support, there are many low-income families who remain resilient after their child is diagnosed. This study aimed to explore how these low-income families remain resilient. Qualitative data was gathered using in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted in English and Afrikaans; depending on the participant’s language of preference. Six participants were recruited with the help of professionals in a local community in Cape Town, Western Cape. The data obtained was transcribed and analysed through thematic analysis. Lincoln and Guba’s model (Krefting, 1990) was used to determine the trustworthiness of the data. The three themes that emerged from the study were (1) parents’ response to the diagnosis of their child, (2) the resources parents found helpful in their immediate environment and (3) the specific coping skills that parents use to remain resilient. Walsh’s family resilience framework as well as the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation (The Resiliency Model) of McCubbin and McCubbin were used to understand how participants adjusted to their circumstance and remained resilient. This study provides a more in-depth understanding of the resilience factors of families with a child with ASD in a resource-limited setting in the Western Cape.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:28314 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Horak, Alicia |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Health Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | 107 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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