Surveying Autistic Mothers About Their Parenting Practices Related to Children’s Early Language Development

Background: There is substantial literature on neurotypical mothers’ parenting practices and beliefs. Researchers find that certain parenting practices, such as use of infant-directed speech (IDS or “motherese”) and shared book reading, promote children’s language development. However, little is known about parenting practices among autistic mothers. In this study, we examine autistic mothers’ communicative interactions and parenting practices with their infants and young children using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Methods: Thirty-three mothers who self-identified as having autism participated in the study and completed a survey. Ten of these mothers helped to develop the survey. To further understand the mothers’ responses, we conducted one-on-one interviews with a subsample of our participants. Results: Only 44% of the autistic mothers indicated using IDS with their children—a rate that is lower than what has been reported in samples of neurotypical mothers. On the contrary, over half of mothers (58%) read to their children 10 or more times a week, and all read at least 3-4 times. Furthermore, most mothers were confident in their ability to engage in literacy activities with their children. Conclusion: Our findings show that autistic mothers interact with their children in similar and different ways than neurotypical mothers. The results enhance our understanding of various parenting behaviors among autistic mothers and challenge the prevailing notion that IDS is universal. Research that uncovers autistic parents’ parenting behaviors and views will help us support autistic mothers’ parenting styles and their children’s learning and development.