Perceived Impact, Needs, and Resources of Grandparents of Children and Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: A Qualitative Study.
Sofía Baena, Lucía Jiménez, Sonia Bejarano and 1 others
PMID 39242472WHAT IT FOUND
Grandparents of autistic children felt stuck between wanting to help and being blocked by parents or physical limits.
They desperately wanted training on managing disruptive behaviors, but almost none sought professional psychological support themselves, relying instead on faith and family.
Key findings
01Parents acted as gatekeepers, preventing grandparents from providing care despite the grandparents' strong desire to help and relieve parental stress.
02The most common need reported was for formal training to understand autism and manage disruptive behaviors, yet only two participants sought psychological support for themselves.
03Religious belief and informal family support were the primary coping strategies, with formal support sought by only one participant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (17 participants) and limited to southern Spain, so results may not apply to other cultures or regions. Participants were mostly maternal grandmothers, which may skew findings toward the experiences of women and the maternal side of the family. Recruitment was via referral from parents, likely selecting for families with good parent-grandparent relationships and excluding those with conflict. Data saturation was not used to determine sample size, which is a methodological limitation in qualitative research.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte and the Universidad de Sevilla. No commercial conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that grandparents are reluctant to help or lack interest in training. The study found they had a high need for information and behavior management skills but were often excluded from care by parents or hindered by physical limitations. Their lack of formal psychological support seeking reflects a reliance on informal networks, not necessarily an absence of distress.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →