Need Assessment for Social Support in Mothers of Children with Autism

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder which has pervasive effects on a wide range of child developmental categories and in addition to the individual, the family heavily involved in numerous behavioral problems and are grueling their rehabilitation. Hence, providing support programs can reduce this heavy burden on the parents and it is somewhat effective. The study examined the social support needs of mothers of children with autism. The work is a descriptive study and the population included all mothers of autistic children in the Rehabilitation Center of Beh Ara. The sample included twenty seven mothers of autistic children. The instrument used in the present study, was the Family Needs Questionnaire (FNQ) (Siklos & Kerns, 2006) that due to cultural differences some of items were modified and some ones also was added to it. Thus, the questionnaire was completed by mothers. The results showed that the most needs of mothers were to be actively involved in their children’s treatments and therapies. Also the most current problems in children with autism were in the areas of speech, social communication and emotional problems and the most children’s problems in the past year also have been behavioral problems, emotional problems and inattention. The most problems in mothers also have been in the past year, family and career problems. Therefore, the needs of these mothers are strong in social support and rehabilitation for their children. The findings also showed need for designed family training and planning supportive as well as educational programs.