Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder’s perception on parent-implemented home-based developmental, individual-difference and relationship (DIR)/Floortime® intervention

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iylia Dayana Shamsudin ◽  
Ted Brown ◽  
Mong-Lin Yu ◽  
Primrose Lentin
Keyword(s):  
Individual Difference ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Home Based

Purpose The developmental, individual-difference and relationship (DIR)/Floortime® approach is a commonly used parent-implemented intervention with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Currently, no evidence is available about the intervention’s implementation and utility in Malaysia. The aim of this paper is to investigate the applicability and impact of implementing the parent-implemented home-based DIR/Floortime® intervention program for children with ASD and their parents in a Malaysian context from parents’ perspectives. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with eight mothers and four fathers of children with ASD was conducted. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings Five themes were developed. Theme 1 described the implementation of DIR/Floortime® intervention; Theme 2 reported challenges parents faced when implementing the intervention; Theme 3 explored parents’ perspective on play; Theme 4 explained the improvements and changes in children with ASD and parents’ abilities and skills; and Theme 5 reported parents’ comments and suggestions about the intervention program. Research limitations/implications Involvement of a limited number of participants and an absence of baseline data limits the interpretation of the impacts of the DIR/Floortime® program’s implementation by parents with their children with ASD. Originality/value Utilization of DIR/Floortime® intervention is practical and appropriate in the Malaysian context. From the parents’ perspective, the DIR/Floortime® approach was beneficial for children with ASD and parents’ skill development and well-being. Further refinement to the program and involvement of participants from various cultural backgrounds are recommended. A greater emphasis for parents on child-led interaction style and play with children are also recommended.

scholarly journals Savouring as an Intervention to Decrease Negative Affect in Anxious Mothers of Children with Autism and Neurotypical Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 652
Author(s):  
Ariel Pereira ◽  
Atiqah Azhari ◽  
Chloe Hong ◽  
Gerin Gaskin ◽  
Jessica Borelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Positive Experience ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Mother Child Relationships ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The Individual

Savouring is an emotion regulation strategy and intervention that focuses on the process of attending, intensifying and prolonging positive experiences and positive affect associated with these memories. Personal savouring involves a reflection on positive memories that are specific to the individual and do not involve others. In contrast, relational savouring entails reflecting on instances when people were responsive to the needs of their significant others. Such interventions hold potential benefits in enhancing positive affect (PA) and reducing negative affect (NA) for both parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and parents of neurotypical children. Adults with greater symptoms of generalised anxiety have been found to have less PA and more NA. However, no study has investigated the effects of a mother’s anxiety symptoms on the efficacy of savouring in enhancing PA and reducing NA. Thus, this paper combined personal and relational savouring to investigate whether savouring may enhance PA and reduce NA of a pooled sample of mothers of neurotypical children and mothers of children with ASD. 52 mothers of neurotypical children and 26 mothers of children with ASD aged 3–7 years old were given a series of questionnaires and randomly assigned to either relational savouring or personal savouring conditions. In relational savouring, mothers were asked to reflect upon a shared positive experience with their child while in the personal savouring condition, a personal positive experience was recalled. Across mothers of children with ASD and neurotypical children, findings suggest that savouring leads to a decrease in NA (p < 0.01) but not increases in PA. Similarly, mothers with higher levels of anxiety experience a greater decrease in NA (p < 0.001) compared to mothers with lower levels of anxiety post-savouring. This study proposes that a brief savouring intervention may be effective among mothers of preschoolers. As lower levels of negative affect is linked to healthier psychological well-being, mothers might be able to engage in more effective and warm parenting after savouring exercises, which would cultivate positive mother-child relationships that benefit their children in the long-term.

Listening to Bedouin fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Manor-Binyamini
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Raising Children ◽  
Cultural Perspectives ◽  
Children With Asd

Although children across the world experience autism spectrum disorder (ASD), most research on ASD has been conducted using Western cultural perspectives and has focused primarily on mothers, leaving significant gaps in the literature. This study aimed to address these gaps by exploring the experiences of fathers raising children with ASD in a Bedouin community. To this end, a sample of 19 fathers of children (aged 6–15 years) with ASD living in recognized and unrecognized Bedouin settlements in the Negev participated in ethnographic, semi-structured interviews designed to investigate their experiences with raising a child with ASD in their community. Two major themes emerged: the challenges that Bedouin fathers of children with ASD face, and the influence of socio-demographic and cultural characteristics on their experience. Findings reflect the complex experiences of fathers raising children with ASD in the Bedouin community, stemming from their socio-cultural context and the limited knowledge and support services that are available in the community for these children. This article concludes with recommendations on how to enhance professional sensitivity and provide more culturally tailored services for parents of children with ASD.

scholarly journals Investigating SOcial Competence and Isolation in children with Autism taking part in LEGO-based therapy clubs In School Environments (I-SOCIALISE): study protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e030471
Author(s):  
Danielle Varley ◽  
Barry Wright ◽  
Cindy Cooper ◽  
David Marshall ◽  
Katie Biggs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Usual Care ◽  
Peer Relationships ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
School Level ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Social

IntroductionSocial skills training interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically focus on a skills deficit model rather than building on existing skills or encouraging the child to seek their own solutions. LEGO-based therapy is a child-oriented intervention to help improve social interactional skills and reduce isolation. The therapy is designed for school-age children with ASD and uses group-based play in a school setting to encourage peer relationships and social learning. Despite the reported potential benefits of LEGO-based therapy in a prior randomised controlled trial (RCT) and its adoption by many schools, the evidence to support its effectiveness on the social and emotional well-being of children with ASD is limited and includes no assessment of cost-effectiveness.Methods and analysisThis multicentre, pragmatic, cluster RCT will randomise 240 participants (aged 7–15 years) with a clinical diagnosis of ASD to receive usual care or LEGO-based therapy with usual care. Cluster randomisation will be conducted on a school level, randomising each school as opposed to each individual child within a school. All prospective participants will be screened for eligibility before assenting to the study (with parents giving informed consent on behalf of their child). All participants will be followed up at 20 and 52 weeks after randomisation to assess for social, emotional and behavioural changes. The primary outcome measure is the social skills subscale of the Social Skills Improvement System completed by a teacher or teaching assistant associated with participating children at the 20-week follow-up time point.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval has been obtained via the University of York Research Ethics Committee. The results of the trial will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and will be disseminated to participating families, education practitioners and the third sector including voluntary and community organisations.Trial registration numberISRCTN64852382; Pre-results.

The acquisition of the Arabic construct state (CS) constructions by Arabic-speaking children with ASD

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdel Rahman Mitib Altakhaineh ◽  
Razan N. Alkhatib
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Head Direction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Arabic Speaking ◽  
Better Than

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether age plays a role in the acquisition of construct state (CS) constructions in Arabic by 14 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It also examined the challenges faced by children with ASD in producing different types of CS constructions. Finally, the study analysed the sources of difficulties children with ASD encounter during the learning process of the CS.Design/methodology/approachFor the purposes of this study, the participants were asked to orally complete short sentences with the help of illustrative pictures.FindingsResults revealed that the age of the 14 children with ASD plays a role in the acquisition of CS constructions. Children of age 12–15 performed better than those of age 8 and 10. Results also showed that children with ASD performed better in producing phrases rather than compounds. Moreover, the participants performed better on endocentric compounds as opposed to exocentric ones. Finally, analysing the errors produced on the text revealed that the acquisition of head direction precedes definiteness.Originality/valueThe topic of the study has not been investigated yet and the study concluded with some important findings concerning teaching Arabic CS to children with ADS.

The Use of Hand Gestures to Communicate About Nonpresent Objects in Mind Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wing-Chee So ◽  
Ming Lui ◽  
Tze-Kiu Wong ◽  
Long-Tin Sit
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Spatial Skills ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Children With Asd

Purpose The current study examined whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in comparison with typically developing children, perceive and produce gestures to identify nonpresent objects (i.e., referent-identifying gestures), which is crucial for communicating ideas in a discourse. Method An experimenter described the uses of daily-life objects to 6- to 12-year-old children both orally and with gestures. The children were then asked to describe how they performed daily activities using those objects. Results All children gestured. A gesture identified a nonpresent referent if it was produced in the same location that had previously been established by the experimenter. Children with ASD gestured at the specific locations less often than typically developing children. Verbal and spatial memory were positively correlated with the ability to produce referent-identifying gestures for all children. However, the positive correlation between Raven's Children Progressive Matrices score and the production of referent-identifying gestures was found only in children with ASD. Conclusions Children with ASD might be less able to perceive and produce referent-identifying gestures and may rely more heavily on visual–spatial skills in producing referent-identifying gestures. The results have clinical implications for designing an intervention program to enhance the ability of children with ASD to communicate about nonpresent objects with gestures.

scholarly journals Interventions to support parents of pre-school children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (14) ◽  
pp. e102101421932
Author(s):  
Maria Zygopoulou ◽  
Eleni Gkiolnta ◽  
Elpis Papaefstathiou ◽  
Kyriaki Sarri ◽  
Christine K. Syriopoulou-Delli
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

Parents of children with a recently ASD diagnosis face elevated distress and mental health problems like stress, depression, and anxiety. Lately, few interventions which target directly parents of preschool children well-being have been implemented in some researches. It was conducted a review of studies that empirically tested the effects of different kind of interventions targeting improvements in parents of preschool children with ASD well-being. The objective of this review is to find out the different types of interventions that have been used and the outcomes on parental well-being enhancement. Searching on four databases and following a range of search strategies, a total of 9 studies met inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that in most cases, any type of intervention leads to positive effects on parents’ distress and well-being. However, comparisons and conclusions among the different approaches are difficult to be made, as each of the presented studies follows different methodology. Certainly, more studies have to focus on the parents of preschool children with ASD well-being and take into consideration all the limitations of the studies that are reviewed in this paper. Despite this fact, it is very encouraging that more and more researchers and clinicians are concerned about these kinds of interventions in order families with a child with ASD to get supported appropriately.

scholarly journals Implementing a Mental Health Care Program and Home-Based Training for Mothers of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in an Urban Population in Bangladesh: Protocol for a Feasibility Assessment Study (Preprint)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliya Naheed ◽  
Kamrun Nahar Koly ◽  
Helal Uddin Ahmed ◽  
Shaheen Akhter ◽  
MM Jalal Uddin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Child Care ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Dsm Iv

BACKGROUND Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reported a higher level of depression than mothers of children with other neurodevelopmental disorders in both developed and developing countries. Mothers are the lifetime caregivers of children with ASD, and a high burden of depression can negatively impact their ability to provide care. However, access to mental health services in primary care is limited, given the scarcity of qualified providers in Bangladesh. OBJECTIVE We aim to pilot the feasibility of integrating mental health services for the mothers of children with ASD attending schools offering ASD care and improve skills of mothers for child care through a home-based training program. METHODS The study will be conducted in two selected schools in Dhaka in Bangladesh that have been offering services for ASD for more than 10 years. A female psychologist will be deployed at the schools to offer nonpharmacological services for all mothers having a depressive episode. Referral for pharmacological treatment will be made at the discretion of supervising psychiatrists. An ASD special educator will provide training to the mothers for enhancing their child care skills at home on a monthly basis. The proposed intervention package will be implemented over a period of 4-6 months, and the feasibility of the intervention will be assessed through a pre- and postintervention evaluation by obtaining the perspectives of various stakeholders involved in the implementation of mental health services and maternal training. The primary outcome will include assessment of acceptability, adaptability, demand, practicality, implementation, and integration of the package intervention in the school settings. The secondary outcomes will include assessment of: 1) the prevalence of maternal depression; 2) children’s behavioral, social, and communication skills; and 3) the intervention participation costs incurred by institutions and families. RESULTS Between February and March 2017, 188 mothers of children with ASD were screened for depression following a written informed consent. Based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV (SCID-1) was administered to 66 mothers. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 mothers and 8 various stakeholders. Between January-June 2017, the team finalized a draft psychosocial counseling module and a maternal training module. Between April-May 2017, mental health services were provided by psychologists to 41 mothers who attended the counseling centers at each school. Three special educators have been trained in June 2017 to initiate training of the participating mothers. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study of a mental health intervention for mothers of children with ASD to reduce their burden of depression and improve the outcomes of their children. The findings will inform the provision of services for children with ASD and their mothers in Bangladesh and similar settings.

scholarly journals Exploring the Participation Patterns and Impact of Environment in Preschool Children with ASD

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (16) ◽  
pp. 5677
Author(s):  
Ghaidaa Khalifa ◽  
Peter Rosenbaum ◽  
Kathy Georgiades ◽  
Eric Duku ◽  
Briano Di Rezze
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
At Home

Participation in everyday activities at home and in the community is essential for children’s development and well-being. Limited information exists about participation patterns of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examines these participation patterns in both the home and community, and the extent to which environmental factors and social communication abilities are associated with participation. Fifty-four parents of preschool-aged children with ASD completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Young Children and the Autism Classification System of Functioning: Social Communication. The children had a mean age of 48.9 (8.4) months. Patterns of participation were studied using descriptive statistics, radar graphs, and Spearman correlations. Children with ASD participated in a variety of activities at home and in the community, but showed a higher participation frequency at home. Parents identified different barriers (e.g., social demands) and supports (e.g., attitudes) in both settings. There was a moderate positive association between children’s social communication abilities and their levels of involvement during participation and the diversity of activities. This study highlights the importance of social communication abilities in the participation of preschool children with ASD, and the need to support parents while they work to improve their child’s participation, especially within their communities.

The psychometric properties of the Iranian version of Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) in children with autism spectrum disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeid Bashirian ◽  
Ali Reza Soltanian ◽  
Mahdieh Seyedi ◽  
Salman Khazaei ◽  
Ensiyeh Jenabi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Content Validity ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Autism Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Sensitivity Specificity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the validity of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) in an Iranian population to determine its efficacy in identifying children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who parents have Persian-speaking parents. Design/methodology/approach A case–control study was performed in March until July 2020 in Hamadan city, Iran. The case group was children were examined by the clinicians used a coding scheme based on the DSM-IV criteria for ASD. The control group was all children in the family, including healthy siblings, were asked to participate in the study. The reliability, content and face validity were performed to assess the psychometric properties of the tool. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to evaluate the four-dimensional structure of the tool (Scores A, B, C and D). Statistical analysis was performed using AMOS for SPSS 21, and the statistical significant level was less than 0.05. Findings The quantitative content validity analysis revealed that the mean of content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) for all domains was 0.94 and 0.91, respectively. For CFA, four domains A, B, C and D were used and demonstrated a good fit (CFI = 0.92 and RMSEA = 0.06). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) in domains A, B (verbal), C and D were 100%. For domain B (non-verbal), the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were 86.7%, 100%, 100% and 88.2%, respectively. Research limitations/implications This study showed that ADI-R has sufficient ability to discriminate between children with ASD and those with no psychiatric diagnosis, and it is a reliable tool in Iran. The sensitivity and specificity for correctly diagnosing ASD was high, regardless of the age and cognitive level of the examiner. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper on psychometric properties of ADI-R in children with ASD.

Difficulties in spontaneously performing level 2 perspective-taking skills in children with autism spectrum disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-254
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Asaoka ◽  
Tomoya Takahashi ◽  
Jiafei Chen ◽  
Aya Fujiwara ◽  
Masataka Watanabe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Explicit Condition ◽  
Level 2 ◽  
Implicit Condition

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate why children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to respond to tasks from their own perspective. The authors investigated the effects of explicitness of viewpoint on performance of spontaneous level 2 perspective-taking skills in six- to eight-year-old children with ASD. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted visual perspective-taking tasks with explicit and implicit instructions about the viewpoint to be used. Participants operated a toy car on a map while listening to the experimenter’s instructions. In the implicit condition, when the experimenter said “Turn right/left” at each intersection, the participants moved the car accordingly. Subsequently, in the explicit condition, the experimenter said “Look from the driver’s viewpoint and turn right/left” at each intersection. Findings In the implicit condition, the authors did not observe a clear developmental change in performance between six- and eight-year-old children in the ASD group. In contrast, performance in the ASD group improved under the explicit condition relative to that under the implicit condition. Originality/value The results suggest six- to eight-year-old children with ASD tend not to spontaneously use level 2 perspective-taking skills. Therefore, viewpoints should be explicitly instructed to children with ASD. In addition, it is also important to implement training to encourage spontaneous transitions from self-perspective to other-perspective under the implicit condition.

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