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Quality of Life in Caregivers of Children with ASD

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Comprehensive Guide to Autism

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Abstract

Caregivers of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience both negative and positive effects of caregiving on their quality of life (QoL). Given the complexity of the relationship between the caregiver, individual with ASD, and the contextual influences on this relationship, it is of particular importance to examine the impact of caregiving on QoL in this population. This chapter describes, using the ecological systems theory as its framework, the specific characteristics and circumstances of caregivers of individuals with ASD, the effects of the caregiving role on several domains of caregiver QoL, and the mechanisms utilized by these caregivers to moderate the effects of caring for a person with ASD. The domains and corresponding facets of QoL, extracted from WHOQOL-100, are described extensively in this chapter and considered in the context of describing how caring for a person with ASD impacts caregiver QoL.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Milwaukee Center for Independence, School for Early Development and Achievement, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Sabrin Rizk

  2. Department of Occupational Science and Technology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, College of Health Sciences, 2400 East Hartford Avenue, Enderis Hall, Room 979, 413, Milwaukee, WI, 53221, USA

    Kris Pizur-Barnekow

  3. School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The Ohio State University, 406 Atwell Hall, 453 West 10th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210-1262, USA

    Amy R. Darragh

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  1. Sabrin Rizk
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  2. Kris Pizur-Barnekow
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  3. Amy R. Darragh
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Correspondence to Sabrin Rizk .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Westminster, Faculty of Science & Technology, London, United Kingdom

    Vinood B. Patel

  2. Nutritional Sciences Division and Genomics Centre, King's College London, London, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

  3. Faculty of Society and Health, Buckinghamshire New University, Middlesex, United Kingdom

    Colin R. Martin

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Rizk, S., Pizur-Barnekow, K., Darragh, A.R. (2014). Quality of Life in Caregivers of Children with ASD. In: Patel, V., Preedy, V., Martin, C. (eds) Comprehensive Guide to Autism. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4788-7_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4788-7_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4787-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4788-7

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