%0 Thesis
%9 Master
%A Cigarini, Anna
%D 2015
%F theses_frw:2455
%T Entering the child’s inner world”: Italian parents experiences of raising a child with Autism disorder
%U https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/2455/
%X The research aimed at investigating the caregiving experience of parents raising a child with autism disorder. In-depth interviews were used to discuss about the diagnostic process; the challenges parents faced in their caregiving route; their coping strategies,and the benefits, if any, they derived from social support networks. The analysis produced three core themes which related to: entering the child’s inner world; making meaning out of autism; and the family’s social experience. Being the parent of a child with autism was found to be a complex and dynamic process. However, among the parents’ accounts there were some common stages that constituted key points in their process of raising their child. These stages relates to: making sense of the child’s symptoms, receiving their child’s diagnosis, acknowledging the child’s uniqueness and advocating for his inclusion.