Social skills training: a parent education program for culturally diverse parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Current information pertaining to families with a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders indicates a need for parent interventions that target social skills training, culturally responsive treatments for ethnic minorities, and stress and coping. In response to these needs, a culturally responsive program was designed to teach parents of children ages 6-12 with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), to facilitate social skills development in their children and reduce the parental stress associated with having a child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The program is intended to be a resource for clinicians that want to provide culturally responsive social skills training for parents of children with ASD, by serving as an adjunct to traditional forms of social skills training. This study consisted of three phases. The first phase consisted of a comprehensive review of existing literature. The second stage consisted of the integration of data in preparation for the development of the program. The final stage consisted of having the program evaluated for accuracy, effectiveness, and relevance of content by an expert panel

Parental stress and its associated factors among parents of autism spectrum disorder children in Kota Kinabalu Sabah

Background: Parenting an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children had been established to cause significant stress. Ascertaining its prevalence in local setting and identifying the predictors for parental stress could be an important step in formulating a practical intervention to avert a more disruptive psychological outcome. Objectives: The objective of this study was to establish the prevalence of parental stress among parents of ASD children, examine the factors associated with parental stress, and examine the association between ASD specific characteristic and parental stress. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 103 parents with their ASD children attending the Child Intervention and Enrichment Centre (CIEC), Hospital Mesra Bukit Padang, Kota Kinabalu Sabah from August 2016 to October 2016. Parent’s whose child was diagnosed with ASD according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorder, fifth edition (DSM-5) and fulfilled the selection criteria were included in to the study. Parental stress was evaluated by means of Parental Stress Index-Short Form (PSISF). ASD children’s severity was rated using Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Sociodemographic characteristic for parents and their children were recorded in Participant’s Data Sheet. The prevalence of parental stress was established using the clinically significant cutoff score of PSI-SF (>90th percentile) while the association between sociodemographic characteristic, ASD severity, and ASD specific characteristic with parental stress were analysed using Multiple Linear Regression.Results: The prevalence of parental stress among parents of ASD children in CIEC, Kota Kinabalu was 39.8%. Factors associated with parental stress were mothers (B=16.82, p<0.001) and ASD severity (B=1.62, p<0.001). The ASD specific characteristic predictors for parental stress in the study were ‘object use’ and ‘intellectual response’. Conclusion: The prevalence of parental stress among ASD children’s parents in Kota Kinabalu were relatively low. Mothers experience significant parental stress as compared to fathers and ASD severity had a significant association with parental stress. ASD children with deficit in ‘object use’ and ‘intellectual response’ would predict significant stress in their parents. Intervention targeting at modifying these variables could improve parental stress

Parents’ Perceptions of Change on Child and Parent Outcomes in Response to a Disability Responsive Adaptation of Child-Parent Relationship Therapy

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently exhibit behavioral problems such as tantrums or aggression, and parents of children with ASD experience disempowerment and anxiety relating to their children. Child–parent relationship therapy (CPRT) is a parent-mediated, attachment-based, and parent-involved parent training program with demonstrated efficacy as a treatment for children with externalizing problems (e.g., defiance and aggression). Adaptations to CPRT have demonstrated effectiveness in decreasing children’s problem behaviors and decreasing parenting stress in the parent–child dyad with toddlers, preadolescents, and adoptive families. However, no disability responsive adaptation (DRA) of CPRT has been implemented involving parents of young children with ASD and behavior problems. This study addresses parents’ perception of change in behavior problems with their child with ASD, parental self-efficacy, and parenting stress within the parent–child relationship (dependent variables) in response to a DRA to CPRT. The research sample consisted of seven parents of children three to five years of age with ASD symptoms and behavioral problems, who were non-randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. Using a non-parametric t test (the Mann Whitney U), findings suggested that the study sample neither provided sufficient evidence to conclude that the DRA to CPRT impacts parenting stress and self-efficacy. However, parents in the treatment group perceived a significantly higher mean change in reduced problem behaviors relative to the control group. The results have clinical implications for counselor educators/supervisors and professional counselors when working with families/parents of children with ASD

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Parenting Stress, Family Functioning and Health-Related Quality of Life

The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is 1 in 110 persons in the U.S. Both parents of children with ASD are under stress that may impact their health-related quality of life (HRQL) (physical and mental health). The purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship of parenting stress, support from family functioning and the HRQL (physical and mental health) of both parents. Female (n = 64) and male (n = 64) parents of children with ASD completed Web-based surveys examining parenting stress, family functioning, and physical and mental health. Results of a Wilcoxon signed-ranks test showed that female parent discrepant (D) scores between “what is” and “should be” family functioning were significantly larger than male parents, p = .002. Results of stepwise linear regression for the male-female partners showed that (1) higher female caregiving stress was related to lower female physical health (p \u3c .001), (2) a higher discrepancy score in family functioning predicted lower mental health (p \u3c .001), accounting for 31% of the variance for females and (3) male parent personal and family life stress (p \u3c .001) and family functioning discrepant (D) score (p \u3c .001) predicted poor mental health, with the discrepancy score accounting for 35% of the variance. These findings suggest that there may be differences in mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 perceptions and expectations about family functioning and this difference needs to be explored and applied when working with families of children with ASD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved

Examining the Links Between Challenging Behaviors in Youth with ASD and Parental Stress, Mental Health, and Involvement: Applying an Adaptation of the Family Stress Model to Families of Youth with ASD

Raising a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) poses unique challenges that may impact parents’ mental health and parenting experiences. The current study analyzed self-report data from 77 parents of youth with ASD. A serial multiple mediation model revealed that parenting stress (SIPA) and parental mental health (BAI and BDI-II) appears to be impacted by challenging adolescent behaviors (SSIS-PBs) and, in turn, affect parental involvement (PRQ), controlling for social skills (SSIS-SSs). Further, the study explored the malleability of parents’ mental health over the course of a social skills intervention, and provides modest evidence that parent depressive symptoms decline across intervention. This study illustrates the importance of considering the entire family system in research on youth with ASD

Grief Experiences in Family Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

The main objective of this study was to analyse the experience of grief and feelings of loss in family caregivers of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as the perceived overload from taking on the primary caregiver role. Twenty family caregivers of children with ASD participated. The family members were assessed using an ad-hoc semi-structured interview that addressed the families' reactions to the diagnosis, implications for daily functioning, and concerns for the immediate and long-term future of their relatives with ASD. The results indicate that family caregivers of children with ASD endure intense and continuous sorrow and grief due to the impact that having and caring for a child with these characteristics has on all aspects of their lives. These data highlight the importance of creating support and intervention programmes and services focused on the feelings and manifestations of ambiguous grief that occur in these family members, in order to improve their well-being and quality of life and reduce caregiver role overload

Quality of life in parents of young adults with ASD : EpiTED cohort

The impact of ASD on parental QOL was evaluated in the EpiTED cohort study at early adulthood. Two-third of parents of young adults with ASD (66.7%) reported that their QoL was at least moderately altered. The perceived impact of ASD on parental QoL was related to the young adults' level of adaptive skills, as well as to symptom severity and the presence of challenging behaviors, which appeared to be the main risk factor. The study of change between adolescence and early adulthood showed that parents whose children had a decrease in challenging behaviors perceived a decreased impact on their QoL. These results argue for the importance to propose specific interventions to target associated challenging behaviors in ASD