Quality of life of mothers of children with autistic disorder

Abstract

Background and aim Quality of life (QoL) assessment for families of autistic children has become a crucial research topic. Purpose of this study was to evaluate the QoL of mothers of children diagnosed with autistic disorder. Patients and methods This prospective study included 50 children diagnosed with autistic disorder according to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnostic criteria by DSM-5, aged from 2 to 16 years, in addition to their mothers. Results This study found that 80% of the mothers in the study reported low QoL and that mothers of children with severe ASD rated their QoL worse than mothers of children with mild and moderate ASD. The degree of QoL affection was more in the subgroup with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder comorbidity. Also, the QoL of mothers is affected by the level of intelligence quotient impairment in their children, with the lowest mean QoL scores in mothers of severely mentally defective children. By comparing between QoL scores before and after child behavioural therapy, the results showed that the post-test QoL scores had increased significantly. Conclusion QoL was rated low in mothers whose children had autistic disorder. Mothers’ QoL was shown to be substantially related to the degree of ASD symptoms among their children. However, giving behavioral treatment sessions to those children was linked to a significant increase in the mothers’ QoL.

Keywords

• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• autism spectrum disorder
• autism
• children
• intelligence quotient
• quality of life