This model focuses on resilience in daily occupations of the mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder, which consists of four categories: (1) creating and re-creating accepting conditions, (2) finding solutions, (3) striving for balance among daily occupations, and (4) thinking about her child’s future. Resilience serves to help the clients in finding solutions to problems and strive for balance among daily occupations. First, creating and re-creating accepting conditions forms a solid base for the client’s resilience in daily occupations. This base is easily being destabilized by problems in any of four underlying factors. These factors are: support from family members and others, family’s acceptance of the child, the mother’s effort to involve the father in child care, and family understanding about the child’s condition. The mother’s resilience is influenced by both internal factors and external factors within the environment. Both family cohesiveness and community supports are required for creating and re-creating accepting conditions, and creating accepting conditions facilitates the mothers’ resilience. Secondly, finding solutions includes spiritual activities, external resources, household management, sharing with others, and coping skills. This enhances their resources of resilience and available resources of resilience to cope with other aspects of the child’s care and with their own daily occupations. Thirdly, striving for balance among daily occupations includes planning, leisure activities, sharing tasks (e.g., with the husband), sleep and rest, and gathering with family. Lastly, thinking about the child’s future happens when the last three categories allow the mothers sufficient mental and practical resources to work on the child’s future, including planning for future, preparing for child independence, providing life skills training, and preparing financial resources. Occupational therapists can use individualized approaches to enhance various aspects of the mothers’ resilience by providing instructions, education, and skill training.
Summarized by
- Macey Cho
Type
- Model (conceptual)
Population
- Child
- Adolescent
Disability
- Autism
Domain of occupation
- Unspecified
Application Note
This model aims to help therapists in developing supportive approaches for mothers, family members, and related others of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Key Reference
Santoso, T. B., Ito, Y., Ohshima, N., Hidaka, M., & Bontje, P. (2015). Resilience in daily occupations of Indonesian mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69, 6905185020.
Year Published
- 2015
Primary Developer
- Tri Budi Santoso
Primary Developer Email
- budi.ot@gmail.com