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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined as a lifetime developmental disorder usually identified by social interaction impairment, communication deficits, and repetitive behavior. The cases of children detected with ASD are rising globally, including Malaysia. Parents, as the prime caregiver to these children, face numerous challenges due to what is entailed in taking care of their children. This paper describes a case study where we examined the views and experience of three mothers, each of whom has an ASD child. Data were gathered through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, after which they were transcribed and analyzed using the thematic analysis method. The mothers narrated that the challenges they encountered include the difficulty they had in initially accepting their child's diagnosis; labelling and discrimination; phase-based temporal challenges; endless physical, emotional, and mental sacrifices; finding the strength and patience to deal with the situation; academic vs. non-academic struggles, as well as their own coping mechanisms. This paper concludes with the need to provide support for parents-especially mothers-to enable them to overcome their challenges and focus on the development of their autistic children.

Autism spectrum disorder or ASD is a lifelong developmental disorder typified by impairment of social interaction, communication deficits, and repetitive behaviour. The number of children diagnosed with ASD is currently increasing globally, including in Malaysia. As the main caregiver for these children, parents face challenges due to their children's demanding situation. The rising prevalence of ASD go together with the continuous endeavours to understand and support parents in meeting challenges related to their child's ASD. While fathers nowadays are generally more involved in raising children, many research focus on parenting ASD children remain to be inclined toward mothers' experiences. This paper aims to provide an understanding on the challenges encountered by fathers with their special children. A purposive and snowball sampling of three fathers of children (aged 7 to 14 years old) with ASD participated in an in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interview. Data were transcribed and analysed using the thematic analysis method. The fathers narrated that the challenges they have encountered include: Understanding the child-specific behaviours; accepting the diagnosis; encountering phase-based temporal challenges; finding strength and patience; handling endless physical, emotional and financial sacrifices; and reflecting on religion matters. This study has identified parental challenges associated with autistic children that can serve as the foundation of the children's well-being and positive development as the experience of parents impacts parents themselves too. Additionally, findings have also highlighted the coping strategies utilised by the fathers to ensure they stay rational, stable, sensible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]