This study is an experimental research aiming to evaluate the effect of counseling for mothers to cope with their autistic children (AC), through: 1) Identifying mothers' needs according to physical, social, motor, and emotional coping patterns for their autistic children, and 2) Developing counseling program according to mothers' needs and evaluating the effect of counseling on physical, social, motor, and emotional coping patterns of mothers. This study was conducted at the Special Needs Care Center in the Institute of Post-graduate Childhood Studies, Autistic and Psychiatric Clinics affiliated to Ain Shams University and Egypt Autistic Society. The sample of convenience consisted of 90 mothers providing care for their children suffering from autism. Data were collected through three tools: 1) Interviewing questionnaire to assess children's and their mothers’ socio-demographic characteristics and mothers practices. 2) Family Impact of Childhood Disability (FICD) Scale, to assess subjective interpretation or primary appraisal of parent regarding to child with developmental disabilities into family systems and its impact on the family as an entity. 3) Medical records of the studied autistic children to determine the degree of disability. The main results revealed that the children were completely dependent on their mothers in basic daily activities also were prone to moderate and substantial degree of impact. There were statistically significant improvements in mothers' coping with needs of their autistic children. The study recommended that media focuses to increase people awareness with the aid of health team professionals in prompting tolerance and understanding of autism with a clear explanation, so individuals with autism will be better integrated in the society. |
