A Labour of Love: The Emotional Work Associated with Parenting Children on the Autistic Spectrum

Jonathan Peter Beckett

Abstract


This project focuses on the emotional impact, inclusive of fatigue, stress and other inter-related symptoms, associated with the parenting of children on the autistic spectrum. As a theretical overlay, the research applies Hochschild’s (1983) schema of ‘emotional work’ to the types of care parenting those with autistic spectrum disorders may create.  This qualitative research applies inductive thematic analysis, grounded in human experience, focusing upon biographical, narrative data obtained through the interviwing of two parents, of whom have children with autism spectrum disorders (pseudonyms are employed throughout the narrative). Through interviewing the participants, rich thick descriptive data wasmobtained, providing a greater conceptual clarity of how parenting children with austism spectrum disorders / conditions affects.  Moreover, the scope of this work has primarily illumined the participants’ feelings and, thus, highlighted the psychological impact of attending to their children’s needs; descriptions of how autism has drained emotional supplies of energy, with demands of rigidity of cognition, lack of social and emotional awareness and  articulating with difficulty.  This research paints a poignant picture of life thereof, as lived by the participating parents, offering some generalisability beyond the data elicited from this work.  Against this background, the project examines the implications of, and possible context for the implementation of educational and social work intervention and practice. This includes: enhanced awareness of the implications of the triad of difficulties assciated with the autistic spectrum (social communication, social imagination and social interaction), release of carers for respite breaks and highlights the need for further training and research into the pscyhological impact of the emotional labour of love in parenting those with autism spectrum disorders.  Finally, strategies are offered which aim towards the reduction of sensory overload and the creation of a calming environment, which individual needs can be understood with greater clarity for the benfit of teachers, social workers, parents and others involved the the lives of those with autistic spectrum disorders.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.17.12.1


Keywords


autism spectrum disorder; emotional work; parenting; qualitative research; biographical research

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