An exploration of mothers’ relationships with their young, non-verbal children with an autism spectrum disorder: A case study approach
type: CreativeWork
description: There is currently considerable knowledge relating to the relationship between a mother and her child. This relationship is based upon the proposition that both mother and child are innately programmed to be sociable and the child is pre-programmed to respond to social situations and therefore elicit caregiving. Equally, adults are programmed to respond to their children. However, many parents of young children with autism have suggested that little prepares them for the limited responsiveness that many of their children exhibit. This qualitative study, using six case studies, focused upon the reciprocal nature of the mother-child relationship in young children with autism who were also non-verbal, and sought to explore any factors which influenced the relationship experienced by the mother with her child. To date no published study has explored this relationship. This study is based upon a naturalistic paradigm and comprised six in-depth case studies using mixed methods of data collection. Each case study includes a mother and her young child diagnosed with autism who is non-verbal. Data collection methods included a semi-structured interview, observation of mother-child interaction and the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) questionnaire which is commonly used in clinical practice. The qualitative data were coded and themes were generated. The numerical data were analysed resulting in descriptive statistics. Each case study was initially analysed separately, which was followed by cross-case analysis. The qualitative and quantitative data were integrated using a conceptually clustered matrix, which was followed by the development of an association network which displays relationships amongst the variables and has an associated narrative text describing the meaning of the connections between the variables. Findings suggest that these mothers experienced difficulties in forming and maintaining a connection or an attachment with their children and deemed the interactions wi…
abstract: There is currently considerable knowledge relating to the relationship between a mother and her child. This relationship is based upon the proposition that both mother and child are innately programmed to be sociable and the child is pre-programmed to respond to social situations and therefore elicit caregiving. Equally, adults are programmed to respond to their children. However, many parents of young children with autism have suggested that little prepares them for the limited responsiveness that many of their children exhibit. This qualitative study, using six case studies, focused upon the reciprocal nature of the mother-child relationship in young children with autism who were also non-verbal, and sought to explore any factors which influenced the relationship experienced by the mother with her child. To date no published study has explored this relationship. This study is based upon a naturalistic paradigm and comprised six in-depth case studies using mixed methods of data collection. Each case study includes a mother and her young child diagnosed with autism who is non-verbal. Data collection methods included a semi-structured interview, observation of mother-child interaction and the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) questionnaire which is commonly used in clinical practice. The qualitative data were coded and themes were generated. The numerical data were analysed resulting in descriptive statistics. Each case study was initially analysed separately, which was followed by cross-case analysis. The qualitative and quantitative data were integrated using a conceptually clustered matrix, which was followed by the development of an association network which displays relationships amongst the variables and has an associated narrative text describing the meaning of the connections between the variables. Findings suggest that these mothers experienced difficulties in forming and maintaining a connection or an attachment with their children and deemed the interactions wi…
author: Cowan, Hilary-Ann
language: en
keywords: C800 - Psychology
date published: 2013-05
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:35:42Z
provider: University of Central Lancashire
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Central Lancashire