Quality of Life of Parents of Individual with Autism, Cerebral Palsy and Mental Retardation in India

The study aimed to evaluate the QOL of parents of individual with AD, CP and MR in India. It looked into the QOL of parents across socioeconomic class (SEC). A total of 240 parents (120 mothers and 120 fathers) of 120 children with AD, CP and MR were compared with 82 parents (40 mothers and 42 fathers) of 42 age matched neurotypical children. All participants belonged to upper, upper-middle, lower-middle, and upper lower SEC. World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) BREF-Hindi was used to assess the different parameters of QOL. Significant effects were found for the diagnosis parents and SEC on the dependent measures of QOL. MR group perceived the QOL to be least impaired whereas the AD group perceived the most impaired across all the parameters. Father of AD, CP and CG perceive significantly better QOL than mothers. In addition, significant differences were found between SEC for AD and CP on some QOL' domains (AD: psychological and environment; CP: psychological). A family with developmental disabilities especially with low SEC requires urgent attention. Special mother of children with developmental disabilities needs more attention and support.