News & Events: 80 Percent Autism Divorce Rate Debunked In First-of-Its Kind Scientific Study
Posted May 20, 2010
Having a child with autism can put stress on the parents’ marriage, and a frequently cited statistic leads to a common perception that the divorce rate among these families is as high as 80 percent. But a study to be released at a news conference by researchers from Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore found that a child’s autism has no effect on the family structure.
Brian Freedman, PhD, lead author of the study and clinical director of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Kennedy Krieger Institute, said the findings seem to debunk a lot of the general understanding about high divorce rates among parents of children with autism.