Parents With Autistic Children: A Case Study of the Meaningfulness of Life

Published date: Mar 27 2025

Journal Title: KnE Social Sciences

Issue title: The 3rd International Conference of Applied Psychology on Humanity (ICAP-H)

Pages: 296 - 309

DOI: 10.18502/kss.v10i7.18335

Zainul Anwarzainulanwar@umm.ac.idFaculty of Psychology, University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia

Ainida RastiFaculty of Psychology, University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia

Desprevita Khairunnisa EkanandaFaculty of Psychology, University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia

Silviana Dwi Fitrotul IsmaFaculty of Psychology, University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia

Zeriflita Aura RinjaniFaculty of Psychology, University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia

Dinda Akila Galuh PramestyFaculty of Psychology, University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia

Parents who have children with autism face a variety of complex challenges that require them to work hard to understand and manage their child’s unusual behavior. This challenge can provide parents with an understanding of the meaning of life. The purpose of this research is to provide an overview of the meaning of life for parents who have children with autism. It uses a qualitative approach with a case study method that focuses on one case unit of parents with children with autism as informants. The data were collected using interviews and observations and were analyzed using the Miles and Huberman approach. The results show that parents with autistic children have a good awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in responding to the needs of their children. Even though faced with the challenges of raising autistic children, parents also have strong values and beliefs that help them deal with difficult situations. An adaptive attitude and the ability to respond positively to situations are also crucial for parents with autistic children.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, meaning of life, parents

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