Examination of the marriage life and the acceptance or refusal level of the fathers who have children with autism i̇n terms of education

The purpose of this study was twofold related with fathers who have children with autism spectrum disorder. Firstly, the fathers' marital satisfaction, alexithymia, and acceptance - rejection levels of their children were investigated in relation to some independent demographical variables. Secondly, the relationships between these fathers' marital satisfaction, alexithymia, and acceptance - rejection levels of their children is investigated. The sample of the study was consisted of 136 fathers who has at least one child with autism spectrum disorder. . Participants were reached via the educational institutions where their children attended to including rehabilitation centers, vocational schools, education practice schools, and some state-funded or private schools. Data was collected from six different cities including İstanbul, İzmir, Manisa, Hatay, Antalya and Batman. As a result of data analysis, statistically significant differences were observed between the alexithymia levels of the fathers and their job, levels of income, marital status, the number of handicapped children. When the acceptance-rejection levels of the fathers evaluated, there were statistically significant differences among the fathers' job, marital status, age of child, gender, degree of the autism. Furthermore, while it's been determined to be avoidant relationship between marital life level and alexithymia, there has been positive relationship between acceptance-rejection and alexithymia.Keywords: Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alexithymia, Marriage Life Satisfaction, Parental Acceptance-Rejection Level, Father.