Autism Parenting Stress Index
What it screens for: This tool helps you understand how much stress you're feeling in specific areas of parenting an autistic child—like meltdowns, sleep issues, or daily routines.
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Approximate time: 3-5 minutes to respond to 13 questions.
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It contains 13 common experiences that parents of children with ASD frequently encounter.
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The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) of the initial version of the APSI was calculated α = 0.82 for children with ASD.
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Understanding your score:
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The index asks the parent to choose how stressful each item is for them using a five-point Liker t scale ranging from 0 (not stressful) to 4 (so stressful sometimes we feel we cannot cope).
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The total score ranges from 0 to 52; higher scores indicate greater parenting stress.
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Three domains:
(a) core autism symptoms (questions: 1,2, 11, 12, 13),
(b) co-morbid behaviors (questions: 3, 4, 5, 6), and
(c) co-morbid physical issues (questions: 7, 8, 9, 10).
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Check out more parent-focused screeners below:
Designed to help you better understand your stress levels, parenting style, and the unique challenges that come with raising a neurodivergent child.
Parenting Scale
This screener gives insight into how you typically respond to discipline situations—like how often you give in, lose your temper, or stay consistent with rules. It’s not autism-specific but still offers helpful clues about your parenting habits.
Approximate time: 5-7 minutes to respond (30 questions.)
Autism Parenting Stress Index
This tool helps you understand how much stress you're feeling in specific areas of parenting an autistic child—like meltdowns, sleep issues, or daily routines.
Approximate time: 3-5 minutes to respond (13 questions.)
Parent Stress Scale
This one looks at your overall stress as a parent—both the tough parts and the rewarding moments—to give you a big-picture view of how you’re really doing.
Approximate time: 4-5 minutes to respond (18 questions.)