Examining families of children with autism spectrum in terms of psychological stress and burnout

Parents have many decisive roles in the treatment of children with autism. The purpose of this study is to investigate the stress and burnout levels of the psychological processes of the autistic children. A survey of autistic children and their families was conducted with 103 families in special education schools in the districts of Istanbul Ataşehir and Istanbul Kadıköy. The 'Family Stress Assessment Scale' and the 'Maslach Burnout Scale' were used in the study and the data were analyzed by SP:program. The results of the research revealed that denial by autistic parents is an obstacle to the treatment and acceptance is considered as the first step in the treatment of autism. The study also found that children with mild disability and those with severe disability had similar levels of emotional exhaustion, burnout, pessimism, parental and family problems, and family stress averages; However, it has been achieved that functional inadequacy, personal success and desensitization are different in favor of children with mild disabilities. The fact that the work is made up of 103 families in the districts of Ataşehir and Kadıköy makes the results limited. Keywords: OSB, Autism Children, Parents, Stress, Burnout.