The Effect of the Psychoeducational Group Family Education Program for Families of Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder on Parents: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurobiological developmental deficiency which manifests itself with social interaction and communication disorder and repetitive behaviors and concerns. The individual with ASD have some adverse effects on the family. There are research results in the literature which report that the levels of stress and depression in parents of children with ASD are high, their perceptions of social support are low, and their family functioning is impaired. This study aims to investigate the effect of the Psychoeducational Group Family Education Program (PGFEP), developed by the researchers for families of children diagnosed with ASD within 0-2 years, on parents' stress, depression, social support perception, and family functions. The effect of the PGFEP was examined with a pilot study before the main implementation. This study was conducted with the pre-test post-test weak experimental design. Data were analyzed by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. When the data were analyzed, the PGFEP was observed to reduce the stress and depression levels of the parents and increase the level of perceived social support in general. However, it was observed that the program did not have a statistically significant effect on the family functions of the parents of children with ASD.