Autism in the Family

            Divorce is being a more and more common and accepted practice. However, the process and event of divorce can cause a lot of strain and stress on the family, and parents can often question, ‘is this really what is best for me and my family?’. Getting divorced is a decision that should not be taken lightly. It is important to understand the affects and reasons behind divorce in order to properly make those decisions.             One of the biggest differences in divorce today is that it is a lot less public and consequently embarrassing. If you wanted to divorce your spouse, you would have to go in front of a court and explain to them why you are trying for divorce. The reasons given fell under the 4 A’s: Abandonment, Addiction, Abuse, Adultery. Without one of these things, approval of the divorce usually was not granted. Today, couples may get divorces for many diff...

One of the most significant and scariest events in a couple’s live could be the process of becoming parents. As a young parent, there can be a lot of nerves, fear, and uncertainty. Now, as a 19-year-old college student, I have no experience being a parent. But I have found some helpful tips and ideas to follow that can ensure that communication between you and your child is clear, and bonds can remain strong, healthy, and trustful.               The first important thing to evaluate as a new parent or someone who plans on/is about to be a parent is the following question: What is my purpose as a parent? The answer to this question can be different for everyone, but here are a few good examples, to provide a safe environment to positively impact my child’s development as well as their growth and learning; to protect and prepare my children to survive and thrive in the world in which they may live. This last example is one...

This week, I will be doing something a little different. As this is Thanksgiving week, I only had one class, and consequently did not cover much about fatherhood. In order to overcome this, I have found an article that I will discuss and review as well as compare with my own experiences with my dad.  The article that I read is titled ‘Fatherhood in Complex Families: Ties between Adult Children, Biological Fathers, and Stepfathers’ by Maaike Hornstra, Matthijs Kalmjin, and Katya Ivanova, written in October of 2020. The article explores three aspects that are vital to a strong and long-lasting relationship between father and child. The first of these  is investment. Investment means how much time, effort, and resources the father puts into the child. It is as simple as this: if a father does not spend meaningful time with their children, it is less likely that a strong relationship will grow.            The second aspect that...

         Last week, I focused on the topic of stressors in the life of a family. As I explained, there are many different changes and experiences that can cause stress and contention in the family. Dealing with and overcoming stress is a completely different process than solving the problem. One is dealing with the problem while experiencing it, but the other is getting rid of the problem entirely. Either process can be very difficult, and can put a lot of strain on the family.                Overall, it can be agreed that one of the key steps to solving problems in the family is communication. Communication between the parents, the parents and the kids, the kids amongst each other, and even possible communication with people outside of the family. Communication allows for more access to support and less possibility for confusion, unhappiness, or contention in the family. When a family is go...

          Every family experiences their own unique stressor events and difficult times. Some common ones can be financial stress, conflict between family members, stress between the community and the family, job stress, educational stress, and many others. Through the times where we experience stress, it is important to remember that these stressor events will not last forever (although at the time, we feel like they will), and we can overcome them, sometimes with needed help and support. Stress can actually be healthy; it encourages us to act, grow, and strive to be better. But if we forget that stressors change and fade, we can easily be overwhelmed by the stressors and anxiety that we feel.  The bond between family members is something that can help the family through stress. If the children feel that they cannot rely on their parents, it is easy for them to become overwhelmed, and if the parents feel that they cannot rely on each other, the same thing ...

    One aspect of Marriage that has widely contrasting opinions is the concept of sexual intimacy. Of course, as a 19-year-old college student, I have no experiences of sexual intimacy for myself. But I will be sharing my thoughts and opinions on the matter. It is known that if a married couple have desire to have children, they have to have a strong bond, and act in sexual intimacy. This is a large step in marriage, and thus needs to be treated with respect and sacredness. The ability to have children is a miracle that we are able to have. Because of the sacredness and impact the act of sex has, it is vital for couples to refrain from the act outside of marriage.              This concept is not widely accepted in our current world. The act of sex is more often used as a means to find pleasure and physical intimacy. This is a very harmful mindset, as the consequences of sexual intimacy for the purpose of pleasure ...

Marriage is one of the biggest events that you may experience in your life. With such a big event, comes a lot of possible changes and necessary adjustments. Marriage life is completely different to the lives that those who are unmarried experience. It can be difficult and take a lot of  patience and compromise with your spouse.  One of the biggest adjustments a couple may need to make is finances. Each partner may have different ways of saving, spending, and overall budgeting. Not only do new couples need to find a compromise between them in these things, but there is also the possibility of high expenses. New couples need to worry about buying a home or apartment, furniture, a car, groceries, and many other expenses. Not only do they need to figure out the future finances and expenses, but the process of marriage is expensive. The ceremony, marriage license, and reception can cost an exceptional amount of money. How the couple handles this is completely up to them.  Liv...

      Dating is the first step to forming a happy family. However, in the current world, the significance of dating has seemed to go down. I have observed that people my age don't really date anymore. Instead of dating, big groups of people get together and just 'hang-out'. Hanging out and dating might seem like vey similar things, but there are a few aspects of dating that make it different and very valuable for building relationships and future marriage. First, dating is planned out. When you ask someone on a date, you are typically expected to have a plan.       I had a recent date where the guy who asked me out did not plan out the date. Just an hour before the date, he decided he wanted to teach me how to dance. I was skeptical. I knew that learning to dance would be fun, but if it fell through, we would have nothing else to do. This is exactly what happened. My date forgot the dance, and we just talked awkwardly for a few minutes before he left. ...

     Right now, gender is a very controversial topic. No matter where you are, there is a lot of confusion and contention around the concept of gender. There are a few very interesting topics to think about that have to do with gender. One, gender roles, gender expectations, and how they each affect the other. All of these ideas are changing drastically as time goes on. So, what are these changes and are they good changes?      Gender roles are the parts people are expected to play based off of their gender. For example, women are expected to play the role of a mother, staying home, and caring for the children. Alternatively, the men are expected to play the role of a father, going to work, and providing for the family. However, as of recent times, gender roles have been changing. More mothers are working, and more fathers are staying home. These changes are not necessarily bad. Sometimes, a family's situations require the members to step out of the usual...

    Family is an important aspect in cultures, and culture is an important aspect of families. Each have an effect on the other. Typical forms and beliefs of families are different depending on what culture you may find in the area. Similarly, the cultures of different places are varying across different families. I am not saying that families are only what their culture makes them. Culture is just an important aspect that may change the format, beliefs, and actions of families around the world.     Families are the building blocks of our society. When families get involved in cultures around them, those cultures can be changed, and the families can adopt certain aspects of the culture. When looking at these changes, it is important for us to remember that culture is not just defined by the country or ethnicities involved. Down to its basics, culture is how we think, feel, judge, and act ( The Effects of Family Culture on Family Foundations | Council on Fou...

       A key aspect of family is the boundaries that are formed. Boundaries in the family includes the openness, communication, and connections between the individuals in the family as well as the subgroups (groups like the parents and the children). There are three different types of boundaries in the family: Rigid, poor, and clear.       Rigid boundaries (also called closed or impermeable boundaries) are considered to be boundaries with little to no exchange between individuals and subgroups. It is easiest to imaging this boundary as a steel wall with barbed wire over the top of it. If you were to see this wall around somebody's home, you would not be very likely to pursue communication or a relationship with this person. In families, rigid boundaries can cause many difficulties and problems. First, children are unlikely to go to their parents or even each other in times of confusion, difficulty, or struggle. Secondly, the parents are unlikely t...

  Research is an important aspect in our current world. It is what allows us to keep up to date on new information in different subjects, and possibly change our actions or habits accordingly. For example, autism spectrum disorder is constantly being researched and new studies are released just as often. However, in order to ensure that you are able to understand that research and know if it is reliable or not, there are certain things that are vital to know.      First, samples. Put simply, a sample from a study is the people who are being studied. Choosing a sample for a study can be very difficult and there can be some shortcuts that researchers take that can possible lower their study's credibility. One, Sample size. Sample size is how many people are participating in the study. If researchers choose to have fewer participants, they risk the chance that their sample will be a poor representation of the whole they are trying to represent. For example, if y...

 Hey all, welcome to my blog! My name is Molly, and I am currently studying Child Development at BYUI. I am creating this blog for my Family Relations class this semester. I chose the topic of Autism in families because both topics are very close to my heart. My youngest sister Ruby (pictured with me on the right) has Autism. She, and her amazing therapists and teachers have inspired me to want to become a Speech-Language Pathologist in order to support those with special needs and thier families. I will be posting weekly, and sharing my thoughts on things that I have learned over that week.