Laurier study finds mothers of autistic children earn 66 cents for each dollar fathers earn

March 2, 2026
For Immediate Release

New research from Wilfrid Laurier University found that, on average, mothers of autistic children in Ontario earn only 66 per cent of what fathers earn in the same households. This is notably lower than the 2024 Canadian census figure indicating women earn 89 cents for every dollar earned by men.

“We know from previous research that women take on the vast majority of caregiving responsibilities in families with autistic children and we wanted to show how those responsibilities impact women financially,” said lead researcher Janet McLaughlin, associate professor of Health Studies at Laurier. “We heard consistently that women were either fired or decided to leave careers they cared about because they simply couldn’t keep up with the demands.”

The study, which surveyed 902 Ontario mothers of autistic children aged 17 years or younger, found that inadequate support services are the main barrier to meaningful employment for women.

“Parents can’t find daycare spaces that accommodate high-needs children, or they are regularly being called during the day to come pick up their child from school,” said McLaughlin. “Instead of a supportive service environment that cares for autistic children just like any other child, parents are being told, ‘Your child is too demanding, so you must care for them yourself.’ If these services were properly funded and kids were supported for a typical eight-hour workday, women wouldn’t have to give up their jobs just because they have children with special needs.”

These findings aligned with another recent study, led by Margaret Schneider, associate professor of Kinesiology and Physical Education at Laurier, which revealed that 42 per cent of autistic children in Ontario had experienced some form of school exclusion. Most often, this was reported as informal exclusion, with students told to come to school on modified hours or days, sent home early because there weren’t enough staff members to support their needs, or not permitted to participate in field trips.

“I am not able to secure the executive level job and pay I am qualified for because of the unpredictability of my child’s outbursts and inability of the school to provide the educational assistant support he requires to be successful in the school environment,” reported one survey participant.

Worrisome declines in well-being

McLaughlin and Schneider’s past research found that, on average, parents of autistic children spend 24 combined hours every week navigating and accessing services, including research, advocacy and transportation. Their latest study found that more hours spent navigating services significantly predicted poorer maternal mental health.

“Twenty-four hours equates to three full working days, so it’s unsurprising that mothers don’t have enough time to eat or sleep well, prioritize self-care or hold down full-time jobs,” said McLaughlin.

Mothers experiencing higher levels of stress, anxiety or depression may face difficulties concentrating, managing stressors at work and maintaining their well-being, which may indirectly affect their job satisfaction and overall work performance.

“We know that employment is a determinant of health,” said McLaughlin. “It’s not just about income – it’s about job satisfaction. Working and feeling a sense of community and purpose is key for mental health. Mothers who could not keep their jobs experienced grief, frustration, guilt and anger.”

Schneider noted that their sample unintentionally skewed toward highly educated, higher income families. Most participants reported household incomes similar to the provincial average despite both parents being unable to work full time.

“A lot of families who are lower income were probably too stretched for time to participate in our study,” said McLaughlin.

McLaughlin and Schneider are adapting their research methods for their follow-up study to focus on the perspectives of newcomer and Indigenous families.

Advocating for policy change

Schneider and McLaughlin are co-founders of the Laurier Autism Research Consortium. McLaughlin’s personal experience balancing her career while parenting a son with autism inspired their research on work-life balance. As a longtime proponent of gender equity, McLaughlin observed that she and her husband were acting out stereotypical gender roles and wondered how pervasive their experiences were.

“When my son was diagnosed with autism, I immediately said to my husband, ‘You should work more hours because we have to pay for these therapies and I will see if I can modify my employment to do most of the caregiving,’” said McLaughlin. “I bonded with my son during my maternity leave, so it felt natural for me to continue providing the majority of his care. My husband is a doctor, I’m a professor – we both put in over 10 years of university to get our jobs. But I genuinely wanted to be the one to be there for my son and felt the responsibility as his mother to do so.”

McLaughlin was grateful to receive accommodations at Laurier that enable her to continue teaching, something she is advocating for on behalf of all mothers in her situation. Based on their research, she and her co-authors – including research associate Vanessa Fong – developed recommendations for employers to accommodate parents of autistic children, including:

• Flexible, hybrid and remote work arrangements
• Adjusted workloads
• Enabling parents to leave work when called by their child’s school
• Providing benefits and employee assistance programs for mental health support

“It’s really about employment flexibility and understanding,” said McLaughlin. “That’s not possible in every job; you can’t have a classroom teacher abandoning their class every day. But maybe that teacher could be put in a different role in the school board or teach remote, asynchronous classes. There’s often a solution if you’re creative and willing to support the employee.”

Beyond individual workplaces, McLaughlin and Schneider continue to champion an increase in stable provincial funding for autism support services, including:

• Adequately trained and supported classroom staff
• Adaptive and supportive daycare, before-school and after-school programs
• Inclusive recreation and therapy programs
• Respite services
• Transportation to and from therapy appointments

“We are really hoping for policy shifts because these busy parents care so deeply about this issue that they were willing to write paragraphs upon paragraphs in our survey so their stories could be acknowledged,” said McLaughlin. “These are real lives. Women who dreamt of and trained for careers, and yet our society is giving up on them simply because we’re not providing the flexible employment and supports they need.”