Single father raising 8 year old autistic daughter

Is there any research on single fathers raising an autistic daughter. Daughter is eight years old and mommy died suddenly of heart failure when she was 7years. Since then her auntie and grandmother have been caring for her. Now her auntie is now dealing with a serious medical condition and grndmother is unable to provide her with the energetic care needed for her to continue the progress made with her auntie. So her father will be caring for her with help of family. Would like hear some experiences to help.

Hi Nana Smith. I am so sorry to hear of your family's loss and all the difficulties you face now.

There is no research on single fathers raising daughters on the autism spectrum, but I would think they would need some of the same things any parent raising a child on the autism spectrum would need, starting with good information and lots of support. If the father is willing to learn about autism, there is a lot of good information here on the IAN Community website. There is also good information available from the major autism advocacy organizations, Autism Speaks and the Autism Society of America:

http://www.autismspeaks.org
http://www.autism-society.org

Keep in mind that Autism Speaks has an Autism Reponse Team that your family can call when you need resources to help your child: 888-288-4762

The Autism Society of America has local chapters that can provide face-to-face, local support: http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=community_chapters

If the father has not played much of a role interacting with the school or with providers of treatments, it might be helpful to make a "transition plan" - helping him to learn the ropes, introducing him to the teachers, the therapists, or whoever is playing an important part in his daughter's life. Considering the recent death and subsequent hardships, the family might also consider finding a family therapist or other mental health professional who can help everyone cope with all these changes and find their way to a "new normal." (In other words, build a new routine and set of relationships until they are comfortable, day-to-day life and not something discombobulating. Sometimes it's rather challenging to make all these changes, and have everyone feeling OK about their new roles or jobs in the family.)

I wish all the best to you and your entire family, and hope this will be a year of very positive transition for you.