Black South African caregivers’ understanding and responses to their children with autism spectrum disorder symptoms: a qualitative study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate Black South African caregivers’ understanding and approaches to securing a cure for their children with autistic spectrum disorder symptoms. Qualitative data were collected focusing on exploring caregivers’ narratives. A purposive sampling technique was used to draw study participants who were of Black South African background and had a child with a diagnosis of an autistic spectrum disorder. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected and to give analytical meaning to the narratives. The results yielded four dominant themes regarding the level of caregivers’ understanding of autistic spectrum disorder and the options they followed in searching for the cure of their children’s illness. The study drew attention to the feelings of frustration experienced by caregivers in their discovery that the use of both indigenous and Western approaches to autistic spectrum disorder symptoms yielded little benefits. Given these findings, a number of recommendations were made to improve policy and practice in the mental health treatment of children with autistic spectrum disorder symptoms among Black South African clients.