Training for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Does it improve their affective functions?

Abstract

Children are every couple’s dream. However, having a child with special needs is not something expected by any parents. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have become a challenge for parents to develop potentials in them. Unfortunately, many parents feel stressed and unconfident in their own ability, thus fully relying on physicians or therapist for the therapy process. The training and workshop of Independent Intervention Program (Program Intervensi Mandiri or PIM) are activities focused on improving parents’ ability in designing and implementing their own program for their children. This present study was conducted to determine the effectivity of PIM training and workshop towards parents’ affective functions. Quasi-experiment pretest-posttest method was employed in this study. The result shows that there is a significant difference observed in four aspects, 1) the confidence in performing social intervention on children, 2) the belief in the success of the intervention process, 3) the expectation regarding children’s development, and 4) the lower stress level when facing the children and the impact of the hindrances. Keywords—autism spectrum disorder; training; parents