Wednesday, 26 May 2010
-
Autism diagnosis is not divorce diagnosis
Time to throw conventional wisdom out the window, at least according to a new study. The study’s author spoke about the findings, published in U.S. News and World Report, but the organization isn’t listed. Using data from a 2007 national survey of nearly 78,000 children from ages 3-17, researchers found that autistic children are just as likely to live with two married parents as everyone else. The numbers are by no means encouraging; the divorce rate of parents with autistic children was 64% versus 65% for non-autistic kids, but it may debunk the stat thrown around that suggested 80% of parents with autistic children would eventually split.
Studies are often tricky, since articles generally report the findings but rarely explain the methodology used to get there. The discussion and conclusion sections of a study also note flaws in their findings for future researchers to note when they conduct their own studies. However, given the high levels of stress that do come with an autistic child, parents may find some solace knowing that everyone else isn’t necessarily luckier. Relationships are tough to match from the start, but that’s another blog. However, the fact that something other than autistic kids is getting press time is noteworthy. The parental aspect plays a large role when stories on children are published, but the trials and tribulations of the parenting role is often ignored in mainstream coverage.
Spending more time on parents would be a fruitful topic to harvest for journalists. We know a lot about how kids with the disability interact with the world, but many parents still drill me when I bring up my condition. Perhaps it’s time I and fellow reporters change course and discover the treasure of information that can be found with parents who raise autistic kids.
RecommendRelated Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to autisable's Autisable Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in autisable's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: theautisticjournalist
- Name: Mike
- Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
- About Me: Aspiring journalist, aspiring play-by-play commentator, blogger leading the way to change autism's perceptions.
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 56 Views: 0 35084 Comments: 0 215 View all posts by theautisticjournalist
Comments (3)
Good point about the parents. Having become an orphan before my diagnosis I am fascinated by my mother's experience of parenthood but now it's too late to ask questions - all I have is odd comments she made like, "We used to worry about you." I used to think it was just a parent comment, now I wonder if it indicated a deeper unease - I will never know.
My parents stayed together until my mom died three years ago. They'd have been married for 30 years if she'd lived just a bit longer. (Ovarian cancer.) I was 28 years old... married, and had three kids of my own. Granted, no one had ever heard of AS when I was a kid. *shrugs* My brother has quite a few signs of autism as well. My sister has loads of sensory and allergy issues. We just lived.
Thank you for this. You really feel like you are defying the odds and almost think, why bother, if the stats are that high! It IS hard to be married with a kid or kids on the spectrum, so feeling like chances are you won't make it anyway make it hard to see the bright side. Knowing the numbers are not at that 80% level, or even higher as I had heard, makes me think, yes, it is worth it. It is worth the work and effort to make it through a setback.