Parental Empowerment of the Parents of Children with Autism: A Qualitative Study

Empowering the parents of children with autism is required for the provision of care to children. Understanding factors influencing parental competence is required for healthcare staff including nurses. Therefore, this study aimed to describe parental empowerment among the parents of children with autism. This was a qualitative study in which 16 parents and teachers of children with autism participated. The data was collected using focus group interviews at Shiraz Autism Society. The conventional content analysis method was used in order to analyze the data. Two themes developed in this study were “self-efficacy” including sub-categories of "self-improvement and self-esteem" and “adapting with the present situation” including the sub- categories of "acceptance of the child’s illness, patience, calm mind and thought, participation and interaction of other family members for the enhancement of care, social protection and support advantages and spiritual connection. " The phenomenon of empowering the parents of children with autism can be defined as “adherence to existing conditions to gain self-efficacy”. Moreover, the findings of this study provide knowledge about planning for appropriate interventions to evaluate and improve parental empowerment for dealing with autism.