Asperger Syndrome and Maternal Experiences

The purpose of this work was to explore the lived §experiences of mothers of children with Asperger §Syndrome. Based on the stories of interviewed §mothers, themes were analyzed and significant §findings were identified. Relevant themes included §(a) the experiences of stress during pregnancy and §birth; (b) grief and frustration after diagnosis; §(c) mothers needing and receiving emotional support; §(d) maternal advocacy for the child; (e) major §systems shortfalls including family, medical and §educational, future expectations; and maternal §advice to other mothers. From these relevant themes, §four significant findings became the pinnacle of §this work. These findings included failures of the §educational, medical, and family systems, the vital §role of the mother in providing advocacy for the §child, the phenomenon of stress during pregnancy, §and future expectations coupled with future §planning. Because their stories contribute to §understanding about this topic, this work has §implications for current theory and professional §practice with children identified with Asperger §Syndrome and High Functioning Autism.