| Summary: | 博士 === 高雄醫學大學 === 護理學系博士班 === 104 === Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is neurodevelopmental disabilities, the symptoms typically are apparent in early childhood, and are normally seen in clinically significant impairment of social awareness, self care/self management, or other important areas of normal functioning. And impact on children, family and caregivers tremendously. There has been a dramatic increase in ASD around the world. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2 April as World Autism Awareness Day to make efforts to raise awareness of this worldwide issue.
This research explored the lived experiences of Taiwanese mothers with ASD children. Research based on the hermeneutic phenomenological approach with in-depth interviews and participant observation (family constellation included). Participants were recruited through purposeful sampling and snowball sampling. The researchers collected and analyzed stories from 11 mothers and the data revealed the following 4 themes and supported by 10 subthemes that represented the mothers’ experiences. Being broken down: "being hollow" and " being painstaking"; Being held responsible: "incessant self-blaming", "accepting all blame" and "adhesive genetic nexus"; Being trans-positional: "transferring to stable locales", "being preoccupied with the disease" and "imbalanced scales"; Being transformative: "bridging the relationship gaps" and "the renewed life with strength".
The findings provide a deeper understanding of common expectations of, and behaviors directed towards, Taiwanese mothers of children with autism. This offers healthcare professionals ways of re-conceptualizing therapeutic practice, thus benefitting these mothers.
KEYWORDS. Mother, ASD , Culture, Hermeneutic phenomenology，Family constellation
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