Impact of Short Term Psycho Educational Intervention in Developing Knowledge and Awareness of Parents Having Autistic Children

Abstract

Background: Autism is a behaviorally defined disorder having significant impairments in socialinteractions and facial processing. Recent findings suggested that, the information from research is not been properly disseminated to parents of person with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Therefore the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of constructed psycho educational intervention in developing knowledge and awareness of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. Methods: Participants in this quasi experimental study comprised of 23 families were selectedfrom Al-Basma and Alragaa center for mentally handicapped children at ShebinElkom and Tantacity, Egypt. They were pre and post assessed with psycho-education sheet developed by the researchers. The intervention was conducted in 8 sessions, twice weekly for a period of 30 days and one hour per session followed by post assessment. Results: Significant results were found between pre 0.34906 +1.67 compared with 0.3549 +1.72 in post assessment data and t= -38.21 and P<0.05.Also, there was no significant difference between the socio-demographic and personal characteristics of target sample and their level of knowledge and awareness in the pre and post assessment data. Conclusion and Recommendation: The findings were indicated the beneficial effect of psycho-educational intervention in developing parents’ knowledge and awareness regarding the nature of autism spectrum disorders, dispelling their misconceptions, and meeting their needs about referral resources in the community .Therefore, further researches in the field of therapeutic intervention for autistic children with involvement of their families are recommended .