Prevention of psychological trauma and stress of mothers with autistic children

Introduction and goal; Autism is one of the diseases in the group of pervasive developmental disorders, which is characterized by persistent degradation in social interaction, communication delay or deviation, and a limited stereotypical communication pattern. The characteristics of this disorder, as well as sometimes the late and difficult diagnosis, the lack of definite and effective treatments, and the unfavorable prognosis, can impose severe psychological pressure on the family and parents of the child. Studies show that parents of children with autism spectrum disorders are more prone to stress and anxiety due to having a disabled child than parents of children with other psychological disorders. In fact, the destructive and abnormal behaviors of the child are considered as the main source of stress for the parents of autistic children, especially the mother, who mothers of children with autism experience more stress and anxiety than other chronic diseases. The purpose of this article is to prevent the psychological trauma and stress of mothers with autistic children.Methods: In this review article, relevant information was searched from PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholer and Magiran databases. Data analysis was performed qualitatively.Results; Mothers of children with special needs reported more stress than fathers. The probable reason for this is that mothers are more involved with the child's problems and are under more pressure. In fact, having a child with special needs threatens the adaptation and physical and mental health of parents, especially mothers, and often has a negative effect on them. It also increases the prevalence of some physical ailments such as chronic pain and mental disorders such as depression and anxiety in families, especially mothers. The prevalence of depression in mothers of children with developmental disorders and children with educable mental retardation, especially autism, is higher than mothers of healthy children. A child with a disability as a child with special needs affects the whole family, the mothers of such children are not understood by others, support systems are not available to them and they have problems in adjusting. On the other hand, the parenting knowledge of mothers of selfish children is different from that of mothers of normal children. These children's limited emotional, verbal, and social abilities, cognitive development, and abnormal behaviors put severe stress on their parents.Conclusion; Prevention researchers believe that prevention emphasizes building strengths rather than correcting weaknesses, so human strengths are a protection against mental illness. Courage, optimism, interpersonal communication skills, work ethic, hope, honesty are examples of these abilities. The results of various researches on the preventive effectiveness of positive interventions show that identifying and promoting positive emotions and increasing psychological well-being as a protective barrier prevent people from suffering from depression, anxiety, chronic injuries and life stresses. In an effort to identify the factors that promote resilience, some researchers have studied religiosity and found positive results.

کلیدواژه ها:

positivity education ، autism ، psychological disorders