Eureka! Institutional Repository

In the last decades, more and more researchers pay special attention to the family’s role in the support and training of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. The present study aimed to describe family adaptability, cohesion and satisfaction as well as sibling relationships in families with children with autism and typically developing siblings as they are presented through participants’ answers. More specifically, it examines differences in adaptability, cohesion and family satisfaction among the families with typically developing siblings and those without other children. It also analyzes the relationship between adaptability, cohesion, family satisfaction and sibling relationship and examines the possibility that sibling relationships depend on child’s age in autism spectrum disorder. The participants were 200 parents with children that belong to autism spectrum disorder. The questionnaires used to evaluate family’s characteristics included (a) the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES III), (b) the Family Satisfaction Scale (FSS), and (c) the Sibling Inventory of Behaviour (SIB).