Mental Stress in a Family Has a Child With Autism or Other Diseases Essay

Introduction

Issues such as mental stress increases where a family has a child with autism or other diseases. The genogram analysis also exposes some issues such as a high chance of the children in the family failing to face attachment issues in the family (Shahzjad, 2018). The guardians are also likely to be exposed to much-complicated topics of stress since they have in most cases lesser chances of interaction from the guardians

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Pre-engagement

It is common knowledge that one cannot contemplate the outcome that an assessment of the family can have on a person (Shahzjad, 2018). The original notion of personality among family members is linked with their interaction with the environment and the exposure that they are subjected to in the family. Enjoyable experiences of the family are, bond and of parents and siblings all serve to provide the kids with an advantageous interaction of the siblings with the primary aim of nurturing the kids to responsible citizens. It is also important that one notes that a genogram is one that will provide scrutiny to the family members who might have psychosocial issues. Issues such as mental stress increases if a family has a child with autism or other diseases (Shahzjad, 2018). The genogram analysis also exposes some issues such as the fact that there is a high chance of the children in the family to face attachment issues in the family. The guardians are also likely to be exposed to much-complicated topics of stress since they have in most cases lesser chances of interaction from the guardians. Hence there is a high chance of the parents experiencing negative and disengaged parenting with children that are mentally impaired (Shahzjad, 2018). The fact that there is a general effect of the parents that have mentally impaired children will be explored in my hypothetical genogram.

Engagement

The family that I am exploring today is what is known in the contemporary world as a blended family. The family is one that appreciates the need to have a family despite not being from the same parents. Predictably, from such families, there are a lot of issues that one is bound to overlook when they are not undertaking study such as the one in question, given the complexity that surrounds the whole issue. Some of the things that I realized as I engaged the family was the fact that there was a lot of unresolved issues that had taken a toll on everyone (Shahzjad, 2018). My mother was a habitual drinker who one could easily predict that she was affected by the demanding needs of my brother who had autism. The family is one that is riddled by the burden of having to cater for an alcoholic mother and an autistic child. We are three siblings, and I am the only one who lives with both of my parents. My siblings, Grace, and Bella, are short-tempered and they on most occasions, vent their anger on me. The family trees one that would argue to be complicated since I have never come across by maternal grandmother or grandfather (Shahzjad, 2018). When creating the genogram, it was a perfect opportunity to discover the secrets of the family that had been long covered up. The quest led me to find out that the birth of my half-brother who had autism was one that led to the breakup of my parents. The toll and the burden of taking care of an autistic child were too demanding for my father, and he ran off. The discoveries that I had made about the nuclear family were without a doubt shocking but were also important for one to look at the larger family, and this included the uncles and aunts. These are people we had not seen each other since I was seven years old and making a conscious decision to go and visit them as a way of learning about the family and also filling in the gaps was, without doubt, a daunting task. The quest, however, was a fruitful one since I discovered that we had had a cousin from one of my aunts who is not only autistic but also one that had cerebral palsy. Such a discovery was beneficial since it helped me to piece in some crucial pieces of evidence while appreciating the impact that the mental impairment conditions had had on the family (Zastrow, 2016).

Despite the fact that the family was one that had drifted away for so long, it was evident that it was one that was interested in getting to know each other once again. It is also important that one looks at the issue of mental disorders from an informed point of view as in the case of our family (Zastrow, 2016). The influence that was seen in my family such as distance and negative parenting were some of the things that were common in the family.

Data collection

The data was collected through questioning the family members about the people that they might have known. The questioning method was one that was beneficial to all the parties that were concerned since the people began to appreciate the need for them to be open about the struggles that they had previously undergone privately (Zastrow, 2016). My mother was, for instance, one who was astonishingly forthcoming about the struggles that she had had as she attempted to fight the urge to desert my brother. She admitted that the process of taking care of her was one that had taken a toll on her and she frequently felt drained by all the events that were happening in the society.

Another method that I collected data primarily for the people who I was not cordial will as in the case of my maternal grandmother was interviewed. The interview questions ensured that I had conversation starters and was also not incapacitated to speak my mind out. Such moves hence provided that I had a comprehensive psychosocial assessment formula. The formulas, in turn, ensured that I had a clear picture of the family tree and the diseases that were caused by genetics and the fact that it was important to have a genogram to address some of the issues that were not simple to comprehend. Other methods include the sampling technique (Zastrow, 2016).

Assessment

The mental stress of a family has the likelihood of increasing where there is a child with autism or a mental disorder. This argument is demonstrated in my genogram where the aunt who has a child with autism does not only have anger management issues but also has anxiety. Research has established that there is an expected developmental perspective in maternal distress in matters concerning the general development of the child (Shahzjad, 2018). It is also interesting to note that autism is not as rare as one would have anticipated since it has been established that the babies' born with autism are four children out of every one hundred babies. It is hence plausible, for one to surmise that the fact that my cousin and my baby brother all had cases of autism is not one that is as peculiar as one would have anticipated (Zastrow, 2016). Such research will also imply that a substantial number of families are undergoing stress albeit secretly.

Intervention

Some of the measures that have been undertaken include steps such as the need for my cousin and my brother to attend the Special centers for the children who were living with autism. Such measures will go a long way in helping one to understand the implications that one as a parent is expected to persevere. The fact that it is important that the mothers are also taken through the practices that will ease their duty of taking care of their kids will go a long way in assisting the whole process (Shahzjad, 2018). It is also vital that one looks at the fact that mothers who have substance abuse should be advised on the need to give the custody of their child to the government where quality care is guaranteed (Shahzjad, 2018). As much as some of the interventions do not seem to be the perfect solutions, it is important that also considers the financial position of the family.

Evaluation

The venture proved that most of the siblings of the families that had autistic children had dissatisfaction about their lives and also had a poor self-concept. Other important aspects that one was bound to note was the fact that there was an adaptation of undesirable behavior in both families and they all expressed negative opinions towards each other (Shahzjad, 2018). The fact that the case of the child with autism was also not a thing to overlook was another vital aspect. The children had diminished self-concept, had anxiety issues and were not especially verbal on anything that they deemed to be uncomfortable. However, in the case of my cousin, the other siblings were accommodating and consequently, the child was more positive about the future and ensured that the people around her understood the importance of excellent academic performance (Shahzjad, 2018). In addition, the intellect of my cousin was much better compared to my brother who was not only immobile but also one who was dependent on a wheelchair (Zastrow, 2016). Such implications all build up to the conclusion that the family understood the importance of the interaction and [positive parenting hence helping him to improve on the developmental process.

Termination

It is accurate to conclude that lack of satisfaction in the siblings of the children with autism is much higher compared to other families (Shahzjad, 2018). The conclusion is in comparison to the siblings of the children without autism and the impact that such a measure will have on a new parent of a child with autism. The assessment further concludes that positive parenting will lessen the dissatisfaction in siblings and increase the meaning of self-concept.

References

Zastrow, Charles H. (2016). Generalist Social Work Practice: A Worktext. (11th Ed.).Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books, Inc

Shahzjad, A. (2018). DESCRIBING MEDICAL STUDENT'S CURIOSITY ACROSS FOUR YEAR CURRICULUM: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY IN DHQ HOSPITAL KASUR | Sibling | Autism. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/376417361/DESCRIBING-MEDICAL-STUDENT-S-CURIOSITY-ACROSS-FOUR-YEAR-CURRICULUM-AN-EXPLORATORY-STUDY-IN-DHQ-HOSPITAL-KASUR