Impact of parents' involvement and engagement in a learning readiness programme for children with severe and profound intellectual disability and complex needs in India

Increasing collaboration and knowledge in school communities to enhance outcomes for autistic students

Purpose

This paper describes a case study of a developmental program evaluation on the Autism Community Toolkit, a collaborative skills training program for parents and school professionals. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the training on participants’ knowledge, competence and perceived collaboration; and potential improvements to the training program.

Design/methodology/approach

The program included multiple training sessions for families and school professionals, designed to educate participants on autism, evidence-based interventions and to increase home-school communication and collaboration. Data collection methods included pre- and post-measures and feedback forms.

Findings

Results indicated that the training program was beneficial for participants overall. Pre- and posttest measures indicated growth in knowledge and competency in autism interventions. While there were no statistically significant differences in the quantitative measure of collaboration, qualitative results suggest that participants reported increased collaboration posttraining.

Practical implications

Overall, the training program was effective, and the ongoing implementation assessment was conducive to continuous improvement. The authors also discuss difficulties with implementation and recommendations for future intervention implementation.

Originality/value

This case study provides practical information about creating, evaluating and improving a unique intervention designed to support school–home collaboration.

Parent mediated intervention programmes for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders in South Asia: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Parent-mediated programmes have been found to be cost effective for addressing the needs of the children and adolescents with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD) in high-income countries. We explored the impact of parent-mediated intervention programmes in South Asia, where the burden of NDD is high.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted using the following databases; PUBMED, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Google Scholar and Web of Science. Predefined MeSH terms were used, and articles were included if published prior to January 2020. Two independent researchers screened the articles and reviewed data.

OUTCOMES MEASURES

The review included studies that targeted children and adolescents between 1 and 18 years of age diagnosed with any of four specific NDDs that are commonly reported in South Asia; Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Intellectual Disability (ID), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Cerebral Palsy (CP). Studies that reported on parent or child outcomes, parent-child interaction, parent knowledge of NDDs, or child activities of daily living were included for full text review.

RESULTS

A total of 1585 research articles were retrieved and 23 studies met inclusion criteria, including 9 Randomized Controlled Trials and 14 pre-post intervention studies. Of these, seventeen studies reported effectiveness, and six studies reported feasibility and acceptability of the parent-mediated interventions. Three studies demonstrated improved parent-child interaction, three studies demonstrated improved child communication initiations, five studies reported improved social and communication skills in children, four studies demonstrated improved parental knowledge about how to teach their children, and four studies reported improved motor and cognitive skills, social skills, language development, learning ability, or academic performance in children.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review of 23 studies demonstrated improvements in parent and child skills following parent-mediated intervention in South Asia. Additional evaluations of locally customized parent-mediated programmes are needed to support development of feasible interventions for South Asian countries.

Benefits and cultural adaptations of psychosocial interventions for parents and their children with intellectual disabilities in low-and middle-income countries: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Evidence and awareness of the importance of culturally adapting psychosocial interventions is growing. The aim of this paper is to systematically review studies on cultural adaptations of psychosocial interventions for parents and their children with intellectual disabilities, in low- and middle-income countries.

METHODS

Studies were identified through electronic databases and searching bibliographies. The quality and cultural adaptations of thirteen studies focusing on parental trainings were analysed using standardised tools and frameworks.

RESULTS

Findings suggest interventions reduce the risk of depression and stress and increase coping strategies and positive perceptions of family functioning. Parenting skills training may improve parent-child interactions and child development. However, these benefits should be interpreted cautiously due to methodological shortcomings. Most studies described efforts to make appropriate cultural adaptations to the interventions, but these adaptations were not comprehensive.

CONCLUSION

High-quality cultural adaptations are crucial to providing meaningful interventions in different parts of the world.

Can I be your safe haven and secure base? A parental perspective on parent-child attachment in young children with a severe or profound intellectual disability

BACKGROUND

The general developmental as well as the disability specific literature has stressed the crucial influence of parents on their child's social-emotional development. Attachment theory provides a framework to describe parental roles within the parent-child attachment relationship. The current study explored parents' perspectives on their role as attachment figure and the preconditions they consider necessary to establish secure attachment in children with severe or profound intellectual disability (ID).

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews with 54 parents on their child's social-emotional development, attachment behaviour and the parent-child attachment bond were analysed using the Framework Method. All children were between 15 months and seven years old and had a severe or profound ID.

RESULTS

Parents reported their child's clear preference towards them and acknowledged the role they fulfil as stress regulator. Children differed in the extent to which they use their parent to explore new environments. Overall, parents described the attachment relationship with their child as positive but challenging.

CONCLUSIONS

Parents acknowledged the roles they fulfil both as a safe haven for their child, and (to a lesser extent) as a secure base. Clinical practice could benefit from a parental perspective to identify particular challenges parents encounter in building a secure attachment relationship.

Exploring foundation phase school teachers' perceptions of learning difficulties in two Johannesburg schools

OBJECTIVES

According to the 2001 census (StatsSA 2001), approximately 12% of the population in South Africa are intellectually disabled and 7% of the population have a communication disability. Early diagnosis and intervention is vital for optimum functioning in later life yet most children are not identified until well into their schooling. Since foundation phase teachers are amongst the first to encounter these difficulties, this research explored foundation phase teachers' perceptions of learners with learning difficulties (LD) in two inner city public schools in Johannesburg.

METHODS

Eight teachers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. The challenges associated with dealing with children who have a LD together with issues of stigma and parents responses were explored. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the results.

RESULTS

Seven themes were identified, namely understanding of LD, symptoms of LD, aetiology of LD, impact LD has on a learner, stigmatisation of learners with LD, parental denial and inclusive education.

CONCLUSION

From the results, it was evident that LD needs a more contextually appropriate definition in South Africa for teachers to correctly identify these learners. Furthermore, teachers require more training for them to effectively cope with learners with LD.