The Role of Grandparents in the Life of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is an attempt to answer the questions what the role of grandparents is in the development, upbringing and care of a child with autism spectrum disorders and how to support grandparents in their roles.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The research problem was formulated in the form of the following questions: 1) What roles do the grandparents of a child with ASD take? 2) What kind of support do they need in their role of a grandmother or a grandfather? 3) How could grandparents support the development of their grandchild with ASD? The study uses the method of document analysis‑literature on the subject.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The starting point of the research is to indicate the symp‑ toms of autism spectrum disorder, followed by the review of the literature concerning the role of grandparents in the child life. The next section refers to the review of grandparents of children with ASD The last part relates to the ways the grandparents can participate in a life of their grandson / granddaughter with ASD, support their development and co‑participate in their upbringing and care.
RESEARCH RESULTS: The conducted analyzes show, first of all, the lack of a sufficient amount of research and analyzes concerning the grandparents of a child with ASD, and then, indicate the difficulties in understanding the behavior and functioning of a child with ASD by grandparents and difficulties in performing the role of a grandmother / grandfather of a child with ASD.
CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: In the light of the analyzes carried out, attention should be paid to the need for conducting research on grandparents of children with ASD, and undertaking activities aimed at supporting seniors in performing the roles of a grandmother/ grandfather of a child with ASD.
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