engleski

Polet (Flight)-Strenghtening the Competence of Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Considering the specificities of autism spectrum disorder (diagnostic characteristics, time of discovery, knowledge about the causes of this disorder) no wonder the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) states that more than a third of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder conduct alternative forms of therapy, and 10% use potentially dangerous treatments. Therefore, it is our strong ethical and professional responsibility to notify parents about information and teaching strategies that meet the criteria of evidence-based practice. As part of the science-based good practice, it is important to define parental role in the intervention enabling them a parent partner role. FLIGHT program contains information that were selected as crucial for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Given the fact that research shows the expressed need for information among parents who are faced with the fact their child has difficulty, the name of workshop POLET (FLIGHT) already contains guidelines for getting this information: P stands for positive approach to the expectations and interventions ; O stands for environment, which should be adjusted ; L stands for link – the connection between child development and experts who participate in it ; E stands for empathy of the environment that arises from the understanding of autism spectrum disorder and empathy of people with ASD whose development must be encouraged, and T stands for the structure which is crucial for children with ASD as it enables them to learn all those skills. The program was implemented through three cycles of six two-hour workshops and it was attended by 21 parents. In order to ensure active collaboration among parents, each topic was presented through worksheets and videos. At the end of the program, parents filled out an evaluation questionnaire that aimed to determine the satisfaction of parents with the information provided, as well as the applicability of the information provided in their daily lives with their child. The results show parents were very satisfied with this form of support, and have expressed the need for this kind of support to be provided long-term and more often.

support for parents ; preschool children ; improving parental competences ; ASD ; workshops

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