Exploring the path to pathos “Lived experiences of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require lifetime support by the family, thus posing a great amount of stress among parents. Understanding lived experiences of parents who provide lifelong support will guide in planning effective treatment for children with ASD. In view of th...

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Main Authors: Rajeev Ranjan, Meha Jain, Pankaj Kumar, Gabby Sethi, Jai Singh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2023-03-01
Series:Indian Journal of Psychiatry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_71_22
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author Rajeev Ranjan
Meha Jain
Pankaj Kumar
Gabby Sethi
Jai Singh
author_facet Rajeev Ranjan
Meha Jain
Pankaj Kumar
Gabby Sethi
Jai Singh
author_sort Rajeev Ranjan
collection DOAJ
description Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require lifetime support by the family, thus posing a great amount of stress among parents. Understanding lived experiences of parents who provide lifelong support will guide in planning effective treatment for children with ASD. In view of this, the study was aimed to depict and understand the lived experiences of parents of children with ASD and making sense of it. Methods: This interpretative phenomenological analysis research design was carried out on 15 parents of children with ASD coming to the tertiary care referral hospital of eastern zone of India. In-depth interviews were conducted to understand the lived experiences of parents. Results: The current study identified six themes: major symptom recognition; myths, beliefs, and stigma related to children with ASD; help seeking behavior; coping with challenging experiences; support system; uncertainties, insecurities, and gleam of hope. Conclusion: Lived experiences were found to be predominantly difficult for most of the parents of children with ASD, and inadequate services pose a major challenge to them. The findings highlight the need for involving the parents in the treatment programs as early as possible or extending appropriate support to the family.
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institution Kabale University
issn 0019-5545
1998-3794
language English
publishDate 2023-03-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Indian Journal of Psychiatry
spelling doaj-art-4fe3e3418d9749f2a4982d08ba9f58172025-01-20T11:09:44ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Psychiatry0019-55451998-37942023-03-0165331031810.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_71_22Exploring the path to pathos “Lived experiences of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder”: An interpretative phenomenological analysisRajeev RanjanMeha JainPankaj KumarGabby SethiJai SinghBackground: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require lifetime support by the family, thus posing a great amount of stress among parents. Understanding lived experiences of parents who provide lifelong support will guide in planning effective treatment for children with ASD. In view of this, the study was aimed to depict and understand the lived experiences of parents of children with ASD and making sense of it. Methods: This interpretative phenomenological analysis research design was carried out on 15 parents of children with ASD coming to the tertiary care referral hospital of eastern zone of India. In-depth interviews were conducted to understand the lived experiences of parents. Results: The current study identified six themes: major symptom recognition; myths, beliefs, and stigma related to children with ASD; help seeking behavior; coping with challenging experiences; support system; uncertainties, insecurities, and gleam of hope. Conclusion: Lived experiences were found to be predominantly difficult for most of the parents of children with ASD, and inadequate services pose a major challenge to them. The findings highlight the need for involving the parents in the treatment programs as early as possible or extending appropriate support to the family.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_71_22autism spectrum disorderin-depth interviewsinterpretative phenomenological analysislived experienceparents
spellingShingle Rajeev Ranjan
Meha Jain
Pankaj Kumar
Gabby Sethi
Jai Singh
Exploring the path to pathos “Lived experiences of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
Indian Journal of Psychiatry
autism spectrum disorder
in-depth interviews
interpretative phenomenological analysis
lived experience
parents
title Exploring the path to pathos “Lived experiences of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
title_full Exploring the path to pathos “Lived experiences of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
title_fullStr Exploring the path to pathos “Lived experiences of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the path to pathos “Lived experiences of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
title_short Exploring the path to pathos “Lived experiences of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
title_sort exploring the path to pathos lived experiences of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder an interpretative phenomenological analysis
topic autism spectrum disorder
in-depth interviews
interpretative phenomenological analysis
lived experience
parents
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_71_22
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