Parental Perceptions of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Latinx and Black Sociocultural Contexts: A Systematic Review

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face challenges in accessing diagnostic and treatment services; these challenges vary by race, ethnicity, and culture. This systematic review examines parental perceptions of ASD within Latinx and Black American communities. Findings indicate that interconnections with family and religious groups promoted positive coping and describe positive impacts of having a child with ASD. Relative to White families, community members reported reduced access to information and more inaccurate beliefs about ASD, higher levels of ASD-related stigma, and more negative experiences with healthcare providers, which serve to exacerbate healthcare disparities. Conclusions are limited by an underrepresentation of minority groups in research. We call for efforts to address the specific needs of racial and ethnic minorities.

Parental Perceptions and Behaviors about Children’s Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in Portugal

One of the sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all. Tobacco consumption is a serious health problem that affects smokers and non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS), particularly children. This study aims to describe parental perceptions of smoke-free rules, to analyze parental awareness about health risks associated with children’s exposure to SHS, and to describe the prevalence of avoidance behaviors related to tobacco smoke, according to parental smoking status. This study includes 1175 parents from a representative sample of 1511 Portuguese children aged 4 to 9 years old in 2016. Parents who were non-smokers reported a higher level of agreement regarding smoke-free rules at home, inside the car, at playgrounds, and near the school entrance than smokers. A higher percentage of nonsmoking parents agreed that children whose parents smoke at home are more likely to become smokers themselves. Nonsmoking parents reported adopting more avoidance behaviors regarding exposure to SHS. The findings indicate that parental exposure perceptions and avoidance behaviors towards SHS were lower and less frequent among smokers. Health education, smoking cessation programs and smoking bans are needed to raise parental awareness and to protect children from SHS exposure.

Changing Parental Perceptions Adding Value to School Improvement Processes in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Parental perceptions and perspectives play a critical role in their motivation, interest, participation, and valuation of children’s education which ultimately influences the quality of education in schools. This article reports the change of perception and perspectives of the parents under the influence of a comprehensive school improvement intervention. A quantitative survey approach was employed in this study including 680 parents from 6 districts. The data was collected in two rounds following the pre- and post- intervention approach. The first round of data was collected at the beginning of the project and the second round was collected at its end. The paired sample t-test showed significant difference between pre- and postintervention responses of parents about improved relationships between the school and the parents (p < 0.000), increased cocurricular activities in the school (p < 0.000), fulfillment of students’ educational curriculum requirements (p < 0.000), the provision of equal attention to both boys and girls (p < 0.002), the obligation of the parents to ensure the physical and moral development of their children (p < 0.000), the provision of a safe, healthy, and educational environment at home by the parents (p < 0.000), and the development and maintenance of positivity expressed by parents for the success of their children (p < 0.000). Hence, the study found that a planned intervention has the potential to positively change the perceptions, perspectives, and valuation of children’s academic development.

Hispanic parental perceptions about telemedicine: Potential targets for interventions to improve access to care

Introduction One benefit of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the growth and expansion of telemedicine capabilities with the potential to improve access to healthcare in the face of social isolation mandates. However, adoption of telemedicine has been suboptimal in the Hispanic community and data has been sparse regarding Hispanic experiences with and opinions regarding telemedicine. Methods To gather feedback regarding telemedicine and to identify potential barriers to telemedicine use in the Hispanic community, we performed semi-structured interviews about telemedicine experiences among both Hispanic and non-Hispanic parents who had performed both in-person and at least one telemedicine visit for their child at our institution. Mixed methods were utilized to analyze interview responses. Results and Discussion Overall, Hispanic parents overwhelmingly preferred in-person to telemedicine encounters as compared with non-Hispanic parents. Targets were identified to improve the use of telemedicine and to potentially improve access to healthcare in the Hispanic community.

Parental Perceptions About the Importance of Play in the First Three Years

<p>Play is a universal and innate disposition that is believed to be one of the most significant components to holistic wellbeing and development during the foundational years of childhood. Research and literature examining the topic of play in early childhood suggests that while unstructured and child directed play is valued, its existence is under threat. Instead, it is being replaced by structured, educational, and adult directed activities which aim to accelerate young children’s learning. Due to these conflicting paradigms, and a lack of research exploring parental values in this area, this quantitative study examined parental perceptions towards structured and unstructured play for children under the age of three years. In order to investigate this topic, 255 New Zealand parents, with children not in full-time childcare and under the age of three years, participated in an anonymous online survey. The survey was designed specifically for this study due to a lack of pre-existing measures. The main finding was that parental perception influenced the way in which infants and toddlers spent their time. The majority of parents perceived unstructured play to best support early development and, consequently, offered children a large amount of daily time to become involved in freely chosen unstructured play. The study also identified that: the more weekly activities a child engaged in, the higher structured play was valued by parents; older parents did not value structured play as highly as younger parents; parents with a tertiary level qualification valued unstructured play more than those parents with a school qualification or less; screen time was perceived to be more appropriate the older the child. These findings were discussed in relation to the implications they raise for the role of the parent, early childhood education, parent education, and child development and wellbeing.</p>

Parental Perceptions About the Importance of Play in the First Three Years

<p>Play is a universal and innate disposition that is believed to be one of the most significant components to holistic wellbeing and development during the foundational years of childhood. Research and literature examining the topic of play in early childhood suggests that while unstructured and child directed play is valued, its existence is under threat. Instead, it is being replaced by structured, educational, and adult directed activities which aim to accelerate young children’s learning. Due to these conflicting paradigms, and a lack of research exploring parental values in this area, this quantitative study examined parental perceptions towards structured and unstructured play for children under the age of three years. In order to investigate this topic, 255 New Zealand parents, with children not in full-time childcare and under the age of three years, participated in an anonymous online survey. The survey was designed specifically for this study due to a lack of pre-existing measures. The main finding was that parental perception influenced the way in which infants and toddlers spent their time. The majority of parents perceived unstructured play to best support early development and, consequently, offered children a large amount of daily time to become involved in freely chosen unstructured play. The study also identified that: the more weekly activities a child engaged in, the higher structured play was valued by parents; older parents did not value structured play as highly as younger parents; parents with a tertiary level qualification valued unstructured play more than those parents with a school qualification or less; screen time was perceived to be more appropriate the older the child. These findings were discussed in relation to the implications they raise for the role of the parent, early childhood education, parent education, and child development and wellbeing.</p>