Webinar - Live - Caregiver Stress and Autism: What the Research Shows

Signature Series | Caregiver Stress and Autism: What the Research Shows with Dr. Stephen Gentles and Dr. Janet McLaughlin.

Connecting Research to Families: Exploring caregiver stress across the autism journey

Parenting an autistic child often comes with unique support needs, especially when families are navigating services and supports through different systems. 

In this Signature Series episode, Stephen Gentles, PhD, research and policy consultant, and Janet McLaughlin, PhD, Associate Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and parent of an autistic individual, share findings from a caregiver-centred research study on where caregiver stress develops from and how it evolves over time.  

Together, Dr. Gentles and Dr. McLaughlin will highlight key ideas of the study, including four important sources of stress, helping parents see that many challenges are shared and shaped by the systems around them. They will also discuss how stress changes across the caregiving journey, from the early period after diagnosis, to ongoing advocacy, and later stages of finding balance and community. 

By attending, parents and caregivers will: 

• - Better understand where caregiver stress comes from
• - See their experiences reflected in research
• - Learn how parental stress can change over time
• - Understand why caregiver well-being supports the whole family

Register Here: https://bit.ly/49Udpnq 

This episode shares research-informed insights and caregiver experiences to help families better understand, navigate, and feel validated in the stress that can arise throughout the autism journey. 

Please note this is a pre-recorded event. Please submit your questions during registration!

See our collection of Signature Series episodes available for on-demand viewing here. 

Meet our Speakers:

Stephen Gentles, MSc, PhD, Research and policy consultant

Stephen Gentles is a research and policy consultant with a background in health information and health research methods. His PhD research was a qualitative study of how caregivers meet the challenges of navigating autism-related care. Among other autism-focused research and policy work, he has contributed to developing several large provincial and national autism surveys for various organizations. He primarily collaborates on neuro-affirming autism-related research and knowledge translation initiatives with various academic and community partners. He also contributes to non-autism-related health research. 

Janet McLaughlin, PhD, Associate Professor, Health Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University & Parent Advocate 

Dr. Janet McLaughlin is the co-founder and co-director of the Laurier Autism Research Consortium (LARC) at Wilfrid Laurier University, where she also teaches a course on autism. After her son was diagnosed with autism in 2012, she developed a strong interest in the needs and experiences of caregivers, particularly the impact of autism services on their physical, mental, and financial well-being. Her research projects, conducted in partnership with Autism Ontario and other community organizations, have included province-wide surveys of autism family caregivers, as well as interviews with service providers and with Indigenous and newcomer families. She serves on the Client Experience Committee for KidsAbility’s Board of Directors and previously served on the Ontario Autism Advisory Panel. 

Disclaimer: Opinions reflected in this webinar are those of the speaker(s) and presenter(s), and do not necessarily reflect Autism Ontario’s views. Please note that Autism Ontario does not endorse any specific therapy, product, treatment, strategy, opinions, service, or individual. We do, however, endorse your right to information. Autism Ontario strongly believes that it is important to do your own research and make your own informed decisions.