TY - JOUR TI - Persistent mourning DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3PG1TQV PY - 2015 AB - ASD is a complex lifelong developmental disorder characterized by deficits in communication skills, difficulty with social interaction and obsessive/repetitive behaviors that affect a child’s ability to manage stimulus and function within age appropriate expectations. Conventional treatment methods focus solely on the child, relying on parents to be change agents through the administration and implementation of treatment recommendations, failing to consider parent’s capacity to function in the role of a partner in the treatment process. This case study is a phenomenological investigation into the perceptions and experiences of parent’s from three families raising children with ASD. The author considers how feelings of loss, grief, guilt, and shame affect parent’s ability to acknowledge that their child has ASD and understand how their child is impacted, potentially exerting a harmful influence on the parent/child relationship. The implications for clinical practice are to establish a sensitive and honest rapport with parents that fosters their ability to explore the complicated emotions attached to raising a child with ASD and interpret the unique meaning on their lives. As illustrated in the following case vignettes, best outcomes for a child with ASD require that parents recognize and understand their child’s impairments, modify their expectations, and amend family lifestyle to support and accommodate their child’s specific needs. The benefits of direct intervention with parents demonstrated in this study support the need for further research on this topic. KW - Social Work KW - Parents of autistic children--Case studies KW - Autistic children--Family relationships KW - Loss (Psychology) LA - eng ER -