Mothers of Autistic children suffer bad careers

Washington, Jun 24: Greater demands on time, inflexible workplaces and increased medical costs are affecting the careers of the mothers of the children with autism, observed a new study done by researchers at Washington State University.

Autism is a life-long brain disorder. People with autism face difficulties communicating, understanding of relationships with others and it is hard for them to make sense of the world around them. Its impacts vary from person to person. But it has been also observed that some people having autism carry good IQ and other extra qualities.

The study, based on a survey of 326 families in Washington and Oregon, found that slightly more than half the women worked fewer hours to accommodate the needs of their child and three out of five had not taken a job because of their child's autism.

To care for the child, one-quarter had taken a leave of absence and nearly as many had not taken a promotion.

Nearly 60 percent had suffered financial problems in the past year.

In two-parent households, two-thirds of the parents said the mother's work outside the home was most affected by their child's autism.

"We found that negative effects concentrate on the mother," said Dana Baker, lead author with Laurie Drapela of a paper published online in Jun, 2010 in the peer-reviewed Social Science Journal.

ANI