MOTHERING CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: KEY EXPERIENCES OF INDONESIAN MOTHERS
Abstract
The shelter-in-place mandate imposed by the Indonesian government during the Covid-19 pandemic led to disruptions of the school routines and therapy services for children living with autism spectrum disorder. Thus, this study aims to describe the experiences of mothering autistic children during the pandemic. The qualitative research approach was employed and the purposive samples of four mothers were interviewed online. The data were then analysed using the interpretative phenomenological analysis and four main themes were identified. Those were the changing roles of mothers during the Covid-19 pandemic, the factors that contributed to the parenting difficulties during the pandemic,coping mechanisms employed by mothers of autistic children during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic toward autistic children and their consequences for the process of mothering. The findings of this study highlight the trials and tribulations of mothering autistic children during the crisis situation like the global pandemic. These findings will contribute to the improvement of educational and psychological services delivered to the autistic children and their mothers during the pandemic.
Keywords: Mothering, children with autism spectrum disorder, Covid-19 pandemic, experiences
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