Experience of Approbation of the Psychoeducational Program for Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The growing number of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) draws the attention of researchers to solving the problems of the family of a child with mental developmental disorders. The purpose of the pilot study was to approbate the psychoeducational program for parents raising children with ASD. The pilot study involved 75 families raising children aged 3 to 5 years with clinically verified diagnoses according to ICD-10 (F84.0x – childhood autism and F84.1x – atypical autism). The psychoeducational program was implemented with the children's parents in the form of group thematic seminars. The following methods were used in the study: Diagnosis of Attitudes towards a Child's Illness (DOBR; V.E. Kagan, I.P. Zhuravleva, 1991); Questionnaire-interview for Parents to Determine the Level of Awareness of the Child's Disease (M.V. Ivanov, O.I. Bogacheva, 2019); a Modified Parental Attitude Questionnaire for a Family Raising a Special Child (I.N. Galasyuk, O.V. Mitina, 2017); “Ways of Coping Checklist” R. Lazarus & S. Folkman (in Russian adapted by L.I. Wasserman, B.V. Iovlev, E.R. Isaeva, et al., 2009); a Questionnaire to Determine the Parenting Skills of Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities (V.V. Tkacheva, 2006). After completing the psychoeducational program, parents of children with ASD became more aware and accepting of the child's illness, and externality decreased. Parents became more aware of the role of various factors that can both cause the disease and exacerbate its course. The strategies aimed at actively solving problems associated with the child's illness and a positive reassessment of the situation have become the leading ways of parents’ coping. Parents have a greater awareness of their own role in the treatment and rehabilitation process and the further mental development of the child. The focus of parents’ attention has shifted from the negative to positive aspects of the current difficult situation, which makes it possible to look at it not only as a hopeless situation, but also as a source of motivation for action.