Quality of life of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder through the method of life stories

Autizam je relativno nov poremećaj koji se sve više pojavljuje i sve češće ga zamjećujemo u našem okruženju i teško nam ga je opisati jednom riječju. Od početka 20.stoljeća psiholozi su na razne načine pokušavali opisati sveukupni psihički i intelektualni zaostatak djece koja su se rodila sasvim urednog razvoja te kasnije razvila znakove autizma. Od Lea Kannera, koji sredinom 20.stoljeća opisuje infantilni autizam, preko Hansa Aspergera koji opisuje autističnu psihopatiju, pa sve do Lorne Wing koja daje naziv autistični spektar za autizam i slične razvojne poremećaje poznati su nam samo neki aspekti ove bolesti dok se ostali još uvijek istražuju. U ovom radu pisat će se općenito o autizmu, njegovim oblicima, sastavnicama, te o jednom važnom faktoru okruženja potrebnom za boljitak djece s ovim poremećajem-roditeljima i obitelji. Podrška, angažiranost i strpljivost majki, očeva i šire obitelji vrlo je važna sastavnica u životu jednog djeteta s autizmom. Uz podršku djetetu, vrlo je važna i podrška roditeljima. Odgoj djece urednog razvoja zahtijeva određeni napor, no kod djece s teškoćama taj prirodan zadatak roditelja je poprilično zahtjevan i od roditelja traži prilagođavanje u raznim situacijama. Ovim radom pokušat će se dobiti uvid kvalitetu života roditelja djeteta s autizmom. Metoda koja će se koristiti za prikupljanje informacija, uz pregled relevantne literature, je metoda životnih priča roditelja. Intervjuirat će se roditelj u svrhu prikupljanja dodatnih informacija o djetetu s teškoćom u razvoju i funkcioniranju obitelji.Autism spectrum disorder, autism, or just the spectrum as many call it, consists of many different behavioral disorders. Autism is a relatively new disorder that is appearing more and more and we notice it more often in our environment and it is difficult for us to describe it in one word. Since the beginning of the 20th century, psychologists have tried in various ways to describe the overall mental and intellectual disorders of children who were born completely healthy and later developed signs of autism. From Leo Kanner, who describes infantile autism in the mid-20th century, to Hans Asperger, who describes autistic psychopathy, to Lorna Wing, who calls it the autism spectrum for autism and similar developmental disorders, only some aspects of the disease are known.while others are still in research. This paper will write in general about autism, its forms, components, and one very important environmental factor necessary for the well-being of children with this disorder - parents and family. The support, commitment and patience of mothers, fathers and family is very important component in the life of an autistic child. In addition to supporting the child, it is also very important to support parents. Raising children with orderly development requires some effort, but in children with behavioral disorders, this natural task of parents is quite demanding and requires parents to adapt to various situations. This paper will try to see the quality of life of the parents of a child with autism. The method to be used to gather information, along with a review of the relevant literature, is the life story method of a parent. The parent will be interviewed in order to gather additional information about the child with disabilities in the development and functioning of the family