Comparison of perceptions of activities of daily living of adult children with autism among three groups of aging caregivers
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2022
Department/School
Social Work
Publication Title
Journal of Applied Gerontology
Abstract
Many aging parents care for adult children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and an additional loved one. This exploratory study compared differences among compound 1 (caring for an additional family member), compound 2 (caring for a typically developing minor child), and noncompound (solely caring for an adult child with ASD) caregivers on perceptions of the degree of support that care recipients need to perform specific types activities of daily living (ADL) that care recipients need assistance to complete. Each caregiver cared for at least one adult child with ASD. Results from a web-based survey completed by 320 aging caregivers were examined using Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA tests for independent samples. Compound 1 and noncompound caregivers were more likely to be involved in assisting their adult children with some ADLs when compared with compound 2 caregivers. Findings provide insight into the realities of caregivers with regard to ADL needs of their adult children.
Link to Published Version
Recommended Citation
Marsack-Topolewski, C. N. (2022). Comparison of perceptions of activities of daily living of adult children with autism among three groups of aging caregivers. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 41(11), 2329–2340. https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648221111392