One of the most popular divorce statistics of the last year has been that 80% of parents with a child who has autism get divorced. But, Brian Freedman, of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, recently conducted a study that disregards that statistic. In fact, he found that while parents with an autistic child will probably face high stress, 64% of the children in the study have two married parents. This new statistic is severely contradictory to the previous one.
The fact is that many autistic children do have divorced parents, and the instability of such a situation negatively impacts the child's mental progress. The important question here is, what can be done? Parents who plan on getting a divorce must also focus on the autistic child, especially after the divorce, wherein the family's main goal should be in helping to heal the hurt and confusion that will probably affect the autistic child more than anyone else.
It is also important to not only take into consideration to the child's best interest, but to really listen to what the child wants. If he or she has a closer relationship with one parent rather than the other, you may give that parent full physical custody of the child. Of course, neither parent should be totally shut out. Plan a regular, scheduled visitation plan. As long as the child is happy, that is all that matters.
For more information about child custody, click California Child Support Payments.
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