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Degree Name
EdD (Doctor of Education)
Program
Educational Leadership
Date of Award
12-2014
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Catherine Glascock
Committee Members
Cecil Blankenship, Virginia Foley, Pamela Scott
Abstract
Autism is the fastest growing serious developmental disability in the United States and more children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes, and cancer combined (Autism Speaks, 2013). Supporting and caring for the child with autism can be devastating socially and emotionally for the families (Neely, Amatea, Doan, & Tannen, 2012). The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes in the life of families that have a child diagnosed with autism.
Four families were interviewed in this qualitative study and each was from East Tennessee. These different families were led by a mother and father, a grandmother, and two divorced mothers.
Through this research, I learned how each family was impacted by autism. Autism dramatically affected each family and each was impacted in many different aspects of life.
Document Type
Dissertation - restricted
Recommended Citation
Cook, Phillip R., "Autism and the Impact on Families" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2441. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2441
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.