Parenting Needs of Chinese Parents of Children with Autism in America, Macau, and Taiwan

Background: Many studies have focused on parenting stress in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and high parenting stress is commonly reported. However, limited studies have focused on parenting needs of parents of children with ASD and few studies have focused on Chinese parents of children with ASD.

Objectives: This study was conducted to understand (a) the needs of Chinese parents of children with ASD in the United States, Macau, and Taiwan in the support services to help them decrease their parenting stress and (b) the differences in parenting needs between Chinese-American parents and non-American Chines parents.

Methods: A parenting needs survey was developed for the purpose of this study. This survey included questions about parents’ characteristics, children’s characteristics, and parenting needs. A total of 94 parents of children with ASD participated in this study, including 57 Chinese-American parents and 37 Non-American Chinese parents (35 Macanese and 2 Taiwanese). The mean age of their children with ASD is 9 years.

Results: 85 % of the parents indicated that they needed support services to help them decrease their parenting stress and these parents preferred attending a parent support group (42%) to receive the services over visiting a clinical professional (32%) or asking help from family and friends (27%). The non-American Chinese parents were more likely than the Chinese-American parents in getting the support services they need through attending a parent support group (X² (1, N = 94) = 6.86, p < .01). The parents who needed support services showed significantly lower quality of life than those who did not (t(93) = 2.05, p < .05). 89% of the parents reported needing support services to help them improve their parenting skills. The top one support service they need is training to teach them how to teach their child/children with ASD. The top one skill that these parents wanted to learn is to manage their child’s/children’s behaviors. Chinese-American parents were more likely to need support services to improve their parenting skills (X² (1, N = 94) = 4.34, p < .05) and training for teaching their child/children with ASD than non-American Chinese parents (X² (1, N = 94) = 5.84, p < .05). 62 % of the parents needed financial support to help them raise their child/children with ASD. But, the relation between financial support and country (America vs. Non-America) was not significant. Not every parent reported that their child/children with ASD has/have ever received the supports and benefits from the government where they reside. Only 72% of the parents reported their child/children with ASD did. 79% of the parents reported that their child/children with ASD have afterschool program needs. The top one skill that these parents wanted their child/children to learn is social and communication skills. The relation between afterschool program needs and country was not significant.

Conclusions: Parents of children with ASD need support services to help them decrease their parenting stress. The needs of Chinese-American parents may be different from those of non-American Chinese parents.