Parental Involvement and Early Intervention for Children with Autism 2
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to determine if parental training and early intervention for parents of children with Autism is beneficial. In recent years. The incidence of children diagnosed with Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder has dramatically increased. Many studies have indicated that early intervention techniques for children with Autism is beneficial in their development. Often these interventions are provided by professionals such as speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists and behavioral therapists. These early interventions can be obtained either privately or through early intervention programs provided by school systems. Training for Parents can be obtained through support groups or training from professional who are providing interventions for the children. The question we pose for this research is: does training of intervention strategies for parents cause improvement in the behavior of the child.
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Literature Review
There has been an overwhelming amount of research completed on parental involvement with their children with Autism, the outcomes of early interventions provided for children with Autism as well as the relationship between social and cultural aspects of parents and their involvement. The research indicates that early intervention strategies in the areas of communication and behavior are very beneficial for children with Autism. Most of these strategies are implemented by professionals however. When parents have a true understanding of their child’s disability and implement strategies appropriately outside the therapeutic setting, this also benefits the child.
Parent’s culture plays a major role in seeking out assistance and the implementation of early interventions. In a study by Mandell and Novak (2005) it was found that parents of a White European culture tended to seek out medical help and specialty help after a diagnosis of Autism. African American parent in general, did not receive a diagnosis for Autism until a year and a half later than their White European counterparts. Latina and Asian parents tended not to recognize that Autism was a medical and physical disability and often did not seek out medical diagnosis and assistance.
Parenting is a difficult role for mothers and fathers. When development milestones are not being met in a timely manner and a diagnosis of a developmental disability is given, the parent suffers a mind numbing blow. Studies have shown that parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder often suffer from depression, stress and anxiety. This seems to be more pronounced in mothers (Ozturk, Riccadonna & Venuti 2014). This distress could delay reaching out to professionals for help or interfere with implementing measures at home. In a study by Straus, Valeri, D’Elia and Arima (2012) it was documented that parents who are trained in early
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intervention strategies and monitored by professionals were successful in positive outcomes in behavior for their children with Autism. Parents who are working with professionals participate in leisure activities and work more successfully. The role of the professional in training and working with parents is invaluable (Hodgett et al. 2013).
Early intervention does work. The earlier it is implemented and the intensity with which it is administered can have very positive results for children with Autism. Communication therapy, Occupational therapy and Behavioral therapy have all had positive results for children with Autism. In a study by Rogers, Vismara, Wagner, McCormick, Young and Ozonoff (2014) of parents who implemented various strategies to increase play and socialization in their infants, had success in increasing social skills in the children compared to a control group who did not implement any intervention. Another study performed with children in the age range of 3 to four years old, also had positive results. The others of the children were trained in specific techniques to engage their children with Autism in play and elicit natural language from the children (Gillett & LeBlanc 2007). There was an increase in the language of the children involved. The parents were provided with thorough training and follow up.
The application of interventions and strategies is best when implemented early, but interventions at any time will help shape the behaviors of children with Autism. It is essential that parent are consistent and well trained in administering these interventions. In a study by Mandleberg et al. (2013), it was demonstrated the importance of a parent’s influence on shaping the social skills of the adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Parents were trained in specific techniques and monitored to help their children acquire appropriate social skills through direct instruction.
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A meta analysis and review of research by Reichow et al. (2014) found that parental involvement in implementing strategies to improve the communication, behavior and social skills of their children with Autism Spectrum Disorder experienced success. Training needs to be
purposeful and thorough. Interventions performed by parents needs to be consistent. It is the responsibility of professionals to give these tools to parents.
In order for parents to be successful with their special needs children, they often need help for themselves. Support groups and professional help or support are very beneficial. Parents who get help and support for themselves are often more successful with their children. According to Mandel & Salzer (2007), parents who participated in support groups were better adjusted and handled the stresses of having a child with Autism more successfully than parents who did not seek out support. The support groups not only offered emotional support, they became information networks. Parents could share information about doctors, services and therapies with each other. In an article published by the Centers for Disease Control (2009), a meta analysis of research found that professionals who work in conjunction with parents and families are instrumental in parental success. When professionals train the parents well to apply interventions and follow up with these parents to ensure consistency and continuity there was success. Parental
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Methods
The research design of this proposal is to perform a case study of the effects of parent involvement and early intervention strategies for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders when they are trained to implement the behaviors by a professional. The professional involved is generally the child’s teacher or a private behavioral professional. Specifically, do parents who receive training and guidance in implementing a strategy for their child have more success than those who do not receive training and support. According to the literature review, it is probably true. It is assumed that not all parents will want to participate in the study or may not be as honest as they could be in participating in the study.
The population that is being targeted are parents of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. A sample of these parents will be taken through the school system where students with Autism Spectrum Disorder are educated. This will ensure that only children with other disabilities will not be used. We intend to target one school that has an Autism Spectrum Disorder class. A sample of 4-6 families will suffice for this case study.
A survey will be employed with a cross section of parents. We will develop the survey with specific questions that will answer the research question so that my hypothesis will be accurately tested. The survey will be brief and to the point so that parent will be willing to complete it honestly. Questions will include: Do you use behavioral interventions with your child at home? Have you been trained on the correct way to apply the intervention? Who trained you? What is the intervention? Do you collect data for this intervention?
The sample of parents will be secured through the school. Teachers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder will contact the parents and send the survey home for completion.
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This ensures a level of trust and honesty for the parents since they have a relationship with the teacher already. This will also ensure the return of an adequate number of the surveys for analysis. Based on teacher recommendations and parental response, interviews, observations and review of behavior intervention plans in the home will be conducted with willing families to round out this study. The interviews will encompass types of strategies, where training was given and by who. Observations will be of the strategies being implemented and if they appear to be successful. The third piece of data will be to review the specific behavior intervention plans and their effectiveness.
These three sources of data will triangulate the data to answer our research question. Coding will be used in the following manner. Review of the behavior intervention plan or goal and pinpointing a target behavior and highlighting yellow. During the interview process, “+’ will be used for yes answers, “x” will be used for no answers. During the observation period, we will code:
B for target behavior exhibited
R parent response
I intervention implemented
+ behavior changes
x behavior does not change
This will help us analyze the data quickly to show if training is related to change in behavior based on the child’s specific goals.
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The process we will follow to collect this data will take several weeks. We will begin with the survey home through the teacher. We will sort the parents into three categories: those who use no interventions at home; those who use and intervention that was suggested but not trained on; and those that employ an intervention and received training.
The next step will be review of the behavior plans. The target behavior will be identified and recorded. After we know what behavior to look for we can interview the parents. Parents not employing an intervention at home will not be interviewed. The remaining parents whom we interview will answer the following questions:
- What is the target behavior? (+ if they state the correct behavior from the behavior plan).
- What is the intervention? (+ if they state the correct intervention according to the plan).
- Were they trained on how to implement the strategy (+ or x).
We will then make our observation. We plan to stay in the home until the behavior occurs and the intervention is applied. Again we will apply a “+’ again for successful interventions and a “+” for changing the behavior.
We will be able to analyze the data by adding the “+” signs for each family. A successful intervention will achieve a score of 5 “+” signs. A moderately successful intervention will receive 4 “+” signs. An unsuccessful intervention will consist of 3 or less “+” sign. By coding in this manner we will be able to quickly see themes in our research as we conduct the interviews and observations.
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References
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Gillett, Jill N. & LeBlanc, Linda A. (2007). Parent implemented natural language paradigm to
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Hodgetts, Sandra, McConnell, David, Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie, & Nicholas, David (2013). The
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Mandel, David S. & Salzer, Mark S. (2007). Who joins support groups among parents of
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Mandelberg, J., Laugeson, E., Cunningham, T., Ellingsen, R., Bates, S., Frankel, F. (2013).
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