Parents' experiences of their marital relationships after their children have been diagnosed as having autistic disorder

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding regarding parents‟ experiences of their marital relationships after their children have been diagnosed as having autistic disorder. The phenomenological approach was utilised as a means for collecting and interpreting material. Three couples from the Unica school, Pretoria, wrote accounts of their experiences and were interviewed. Both the written accounts and the interviews were analysed following Giorgi‟s method. The research findings that emerged were themes concerning diagnosis, coping, conflict, being different, the outside world, being a couple, partnership, family-life and autism. Copyright