Divorce – another autism myth exposed

by Benison O'Reilly on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

An 80% divorce rate for parents of kids with autism—that is, roughly double the normal rate—is often quoted as folklore.  It’s a good disaster story which garners sympathy and media attention. But is it true?

No, if you believe the researchers at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.  And I’m inclined to believe them.

In a study unveiled at the recent International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) in Philadelphia, researchers examined data from the (US) 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, including a nationally representative sample of 77,911 children aged 3 to 17 years. They found 64% of children with ASD were living in a traditional family structure (two-parent biological or adoptive) compared with 65%  of children without an ASD -that’s pretty much on par.

These findings held even when the researchers statistically controlled for other factors that could have affected family structure, such as socioeconomic status or demographics, and the reported severity of a child’s autism.   Only when researchers considered co-existing psychiatric and other problems (such as ADHD or serious behavioural problems) in children with ASD, did they find the likelihood of living in a non-traditional family structure (a two parent household with step-parents, a single mother or father, other relatives, or other family types) increased slightly.

The lead researcher, Brian Freedman, reported that he was motivated to conduct this research after hearing the oft-quoted 80% split-up rate among parents of children with autism. However, when Freedman searched for the study behind the mythical 80% figure he never found one—it appears to have originated from pure speculation and then been resurrected again and again, with no evidence to back it up.

As Seana said when I sent her the link to this study, ‘I always thought that 80% figure was bunkum.’

Certainly my experience has been that the majority of autism marriages remain intact. Sure, I’m aware of a few divorces, but nothing to suggest that autism diagnosis = matrimonial train wreck.  And in some  cases I’m aware of there have been extenuating circumstances, such as psychiatric diagnoses (bipolar disorder or, unsurprisingly, Asperger’s) affecting one of the parents.

This is good news for all ASD parents and, of course, for their children. It is far easier to face the challenges of raising a child with autism if there is another parent alongside you to assist.

The study abstract is available below:

http://imfar.confex.com/imfar/2010/webprogram/Paper6087.html

Or for more commentary at WebMD see:

www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20100519/autism-famlies-high-divorce-rate-is-a-myth?src=RSS_PUBLIC

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Tags: autism, families