Couple Conflict in Parents of Children with versus without Autism: Self-Reported and Observed Findings.

We compared the couple conflict of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to a comparison group of parents of children without disabilities using self-reported and observational measures. In total, 178 couples who had a child with ASD (aged 5-12 years) and 174 couples who had children without disabilities (aged 5-12 years), recruited from a Midwestern state in the United States, reported on couple conflict in everyday life and engaged in an observed couple conflict interaction. Parents of children with ASD reported more frequent, severe, and unresolved couple problems than the comparison group. Parents who had a child with ASD were observed to have less engaged, balanced, and cooperative couple conflict interactions, but demonstrated more positive affect and sensitivity towards one another, than parents in the comparison group. Group differences had small effect sizes. Findings have implications for marital therapy and relationship education programs.

Patterns of autism spectrum symptomatology in individuals with Down syndrome without comorbid autism spectrum disorder.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence estimates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Down syndrome (DS) are highly varied. This variation is partly due to the difficulty of screening for and diagnosing comorbid ASD in individuals with a syndrome that carries its own set of social communicative and behavioral difficulties that are not well documented. The aim of this study was to identify the typical range of social communicative impairments observed in children, adolescents, and young adults with DS who do not have comorbid ASD. METHODS: We examined patterns of scores from the five subscales of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) in 46 individuals with DS (ages 10-21 years) without comorbid ASD relative to the published normative sample. We also explored the correlations between SRS symptomatology and age, nonverbal cognition, and receptive language. RESULTS: SRS scores were elevated (i.e., more ASD symptoms endorsed), with mean scores falling into the clinically significant range. Analysis by subscale revealed a specific pattern, with Autistic Mannerisms and Social Cognition scores significantly more elevated than Social Communication scores, which were significantly more elevated than Social Awareness and Social Motivation scores. Correlations between SRS scores and the other measures varied by subscale. CONCLUSIONS: General elevated ASD symptomatology on the SRS indicates the need for developing population-based norms specific to DS. The pattern of scores across subscales should inform clinicians of the typical range of behaviors observed in DS so that individuals with atypical patterns of behavior can be more easily identified and considered for a full ASD evaluation.

Division of Labor in Families of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Couples who have a child or adolescent with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are faced with the difficult decision of how to divide childcare responsibilities and paid employment. We examined the division of labor and its relation to parenting stress and marital adjustment in 73 married couples who have a child or adolescent with ASD. Mothers and fathers independently reported on their global level of parenting stress and marital adjustment and then completed a 7-day online daily diary of time spent in childcare, time spent in paid employment, and satisfaction with the time that one's spouse spent in childcare. Overall, couples demonstrated a pattern of partial role specialization in which mothers engaged in more childcare and fathers engaged in more paid employment. Child age was negatively related and degree of disability was positively related to role specialization. Time spent in paid employment and satisfaction with the time that one's spouse spent in childcare had important associations with parenting stress and marital adjustment.