The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

This workshop explores the male experience when a child has autism. How does a man deal with a problem he cannot fix? The presenter is the father of an adult child with autism and provides insight into the challenges involved in the father-child relationship and developing male parent involvement. Fathers of children with autism are either very involved or withdrawn and virtually absent from interactions with professionals. Is this really the case, or do men cope differently and involve themselves differently?

Usually men are at work making money to support their families or at home watching the children so that the women can attend meetings or appointments.  Men generally prefer to do things to help as opposed to connecting by talking about the stresses and strains of everyday life. Flipin and Crais (2011) discussed the need for more effective father involvement in early autism intervention.  Their research indicated that fathers spend more time with their children and are more directly involved with their care but not in early intervention programming.  Mothers remain the almost exclusive participants in early intervention services resulting in high stress levels. Flipin and Crais highlight the contributions and challenges of fathers.  For example, the father’s use of higher level vocabulary and different communication style with children may complement that of the child’s mother.  On the other hand, fathers are often frustrated by not knowing how to play with their children, but the active rough-and-tumble nature of father-child play can be instrumental in child development.  

Men respond better to having an action plan. So this session includes making an action plan to find something men enjoy doing with their child as well as how to get more involved in the day to day nurturing of their child with autism. Finally strategies to strengthen male involvement in school and community will be discussed.

Outline:

1.         Becoming a father: My Story                                                             10 minutes

2.         Understanding traditional male role norms                                        10 minutes

3.         Video clips of fathers                                                                         10 minutes

4.         Strategies for helping fathers bond with their children                      10 minutes

5.         Guy Talk: How to listen and talk to men                                           10 minutes

6.         Building male involvement in school and community                        10 minutes

8.         Questions                                                                                       15 minutes

References:

Flipin, M. & Crais, E. R. (2011). The need for more effective father involvement in early autism intervention: A systematic review and recommendations. Journal of Early Intervention, 33, 24-50.

Freedman, B., Kalb, L., Zablotsky, B.,  & Stuart, E. (2011). Relationship status among parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 42, 539-548.

Kayfitz, A. D., Gragg, M. N. and Robert Orr, R. (2010), Positive Experiences of Mothers and Fathers of Children with Autism, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities,23,337-343.

Lamb, M.E. (Ed). (2010). The role of the father in child development, (5th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Naseef, R. and Freedman, B. (2012). A Diagnosis of Autism is not a Prognosis of Divorce: Myths and Realities of Maintaining a Marriage as Parents of a Child with Autism. Advocate, Fall, 9-12.

Pollack, W.S. (1998). Real boys: Rescuing our sons from the myths of boyhood. New York, NY: Random House.

Learning Objectives: