Reducing special education costs by providing early intervention for autistic children

The article is about the role of the family in the education and formation of children and, especially, in the life and development of autistic children. It describes the problems their family is facing and the need for counseling to parents with autistic children. The reaction to finding the diagnosis of autism varies from one family to another and may encounter a large variety: from disbelief, anger, guilt, helplessness, devastation, surprise, or even rejection of the child, to understanding and relief when finally the parents have an explanation for their child behaviors. Early intervention is important in psychological sustaining of the parent, as parent involvement in the recovery of the child with autism has a determinant role in his development and in ensuring a high quality of life of the child and the life of the hole family. The response to a child's autism diagnosis varies from one family to another. The family goes through a variety of disbelief, anger, guilt, helplessness, devastation, surprise, or even rejection of the child, to understanding and relief. Early intervention is very important in the psychological support of the parent. Because any change disturbs the family equilibrium. A diagnosis of autism changes not only the life of the diagnosed child, but also the life of family members. All the resources are focused on the need of the child. Although each parent is different, after diagnosing the child with autism, all parents are overwhelmed by confusion, shock and denial. Parents' feelings can be influenced by how their children's situation affects different aspects of life - it has an impact on service, on social life and all their personal life. If we look at the family as a system and when a disturbing factor appears, all parts of the system are affected. The involvement of parents in the recovery of the child with autism has a decisive role in its development and in ensuring a high quality of child's life and family life.

Understanding experiences of families and their partnerships as they navigate early intervention, transition, and early childhood special education

10.31274/etd-180810-2020 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Aryn Diane Kruse

Keyword(s):

Special Education ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Early Childhood Special Education

Thinking Vertically: Facilitating Transition for Students With Disabilities

General Music Today ◽

10.1177/10483713211034432 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 104837132110344

Author(s):

Ellary A. Draper

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Special Education ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Best Practices ◽

Music Education ◽

Students With Disabilities ◽

Education Program ◽

Special Educators ◽

Individualized Education Program ◽

Special Education Transition

Within special education, transition is a required part of a student’s Individualized Education Program, specifically the transition from school to postsecondary life. Recently, special educators have begun to investigate best practices of transition at all levels—early intervention into school, elementary to middle school, and middle to high school. Yet in music education transition is not widely discussed for students with and without disabilities. This article includes an overview of best practices of transition in special education and provides ideas on how to implement these practices in music education to better facilitate transition between schools to postsecondary life for students with disabilities.

The DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education: Social Validation

Journal of Early Intervention ◽

10.1177/105381510202500209 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 120-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Mary E. McLean ◽

Patricia Snyder ◽

Barbara J. Smith ◽

Susan R. Sandall

Keyword(s):

Special Education ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Early Childhood Special Education ◽

Social Validation ◽

Recommended Practices

Comparison of mental health, well-being and parenting sense of competency among Australian and South-East Asian parents of autistic children accessing early intervention in Australia

Autism ◽

10.1177/13623613211010006 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 136236132110100

Author(s):

Jodie Smith ◽

Rhylee Sulek ◽

Ifrah Abdullahi ◽

Cherie C Green ◽

Catherine A Bent ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Mental Health ◽

Early Intervention ◽

East Asian ◽

Well Being ◽

Cultural Background ◽

Autistic Children ◽

Community Based ◽

Health Quality

Parents from individualist cultures (those focused on autonomy of individuals; that is, Australian) may view their autistic children differently compared to parents from collectivist cultures (where community needs are valued over an individual’s, that is, South-East Asian cultures). As most research on autism and parenting has been undertaken in Western individualist cultures, knowledge of parenting beliefs and mental health within collectivist cultures is lacking. We compared the mental health, quality of life, well-being and parenting sense of competency between families raising an autistic child from two groups: 97 Australian parents and 58 parents from South-East Asian backgrounds. Children from both groups were receiving the same community-based early intervention. No group differences were found on the measures of mental health but, when compared to Australian parents, parents from South-East Asian backgrounds reported higher well-being and less impact on their quality of life resulting from their child’s autism-specific difficulties. Furthermore, a positive association between well-being and quality of life was only observed for South-East Asian parents. Hence, the views of, and responses to, disability for South-East Asian parents may act as a protective factor promoting well-being. This novel research indicates that culture plays a role in parenting autistic children and highlights the need to accurately capture cultural background information in research. Lay abstract We know that parents of autistic children experience poorer mental health and lower well-being than parents of non-autistic children. We also know that poorer mental health among parents of autistic children has been observed across different cultures. Most research focuses on Western cultures, so we know little about parental mental health and well-being of parents from different cultural backgrounds; yet, it is likely that cultural background contributes to how parents view their child’s condition and respond to the diagnosis. Here, we compared mental health, quality of life and well-being between families raising an autistic child from Australian backgrounds to families from South-East Asian backgrounds. All children in the current study were receiving the same community-based early intervention. When compared to the general population, parents had poorer mental health overall, but there were no differences between the two groups of parents. However, parents from South-East Asian backgrounds reported higher well-being and fewer difficulties associated with their child’s autism. These findings suggest that cultural background likely influences not only parent’s view of, and response to, their child’s autism, but also their own sense of well-being. As researchers and clinicians working with families of autistic children, we should more explicitly consider family’s cultural background within our work.