The perception of parents of youth with autism on social inclusion

Abstract

In this study I will be looking at the perception of parents having children diagnosed with autism disorder on social inclusion. I will explore what various researchers and authors have said about autism, social inclusion and parenting. I am also conducting my own study where three interviews will be carried out, to be able to understand better social inclusion with regards to youth with autism in relation to their parents' point of view. For this pilot study parents of youth with varied degrees of severity of autism will be interviewed. In this research it was made very clear that two of the main reasons why youth with autism tend to get excluded from society are due to the fact of lack of social skills of the youth themselves and also that there is not enough knowledge about autism given to our society. This research will also look at different definitions of social inclusion, parenting and autism disorder. A detailed definition of each will be given and explored. One can also note the way a disabled youth can affect the parents and siblings with regards to social inclusion. Services provided in Malta are also explored and noted how such services can make a difference in both the youth with autism's life as well as for the family. In this study one can also learn that although a lot is being done in our society to include people with disabilities, at times we only tend to focus on the educational level only. I believe that this study is to teach and change me with regards to doing a research as well with regards to my own point of view on social inclusion with regards autistic youth.