Autism and maternal stress explored through a goodness of fit framework: Guidelines for including parents in treatment

When a child's temperament and other characteristics (i.e. cognitive abilities) are adequate to master the expectations and opportunities of a specific environment, then there is a goodness of fit (Chess & Thomas, 1991). Having a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents a mother with a plethora of challenges, making it difficult to foster a "fit" environment. The challenges of raising a child with ASD present mothers with a great deal of stress. Some of the inherent behavioral, cognitive, and relational challenges of autism interfere with a mother's ability to create and maintain the kind of environment that promotes effective communication, emotion regulation, and behavioral regulation. Mothers of children with disabilities reach clinical levels of stress in a larger proportion than mothers of typically developing children (Guralnick et al., 2008). This relationship between a mother and a child is bidirectional, as research shows that behavior problems and stress exacerbate each other over time (Lecavalier et. al 2006). As prevalence rates for ASD are on the rise (Burrell & Borrego, 2012), there is a greater need for research informed and comprehensive treatment plans that, in addition to treating a child's behaviors, incorporate mothers in treatment so as to maximize the goodness of fit between mother and child. The guidelines suggested in this paper utilize research on therapeutic techniques to reduce parental stress in mothers of children with ASD in order to suggest how to systematically assimilate mothers into their child's treatment.