The purpose of this dissertation is to compare the emotional state of parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the quality of interactions between them and their children before and after the implementation of the Cygnet program, a structured ASD – oriented parenting psycho-education program. Parents of children with ASD have been found to often experience increased stress, high levels of depression and emotional exhaustion. The emotional distance of the child with ASD usually leads to feelings of hopelessness and despair on the part of the parents. The psychological and physical health of parents is very often affected and is on a downward spiral, making their timely and appropriate support of mental and social care services imperative. Children with ASD live, grow and learn within the family environment and parents play a key role in their education. As parents in most cases lack specialized training in the management of individuals with ASD, specialist support programs may fill this gap and strengthen their position. From this perspective, parents of children with ASD need support from special education programs, such as Cygnet, to overcome their negative emotional burden and prove to be effective and useful in managing their child with ASD problems. As part of the Cygnet program, which focuses on developing parents’ skills, their needs are taken into account, while providing for their emotional, cognitive and social support. The sample of the study will consist of 30 parents of children with ASD (Level 2 & 3) aged 4 to 8 years. The research combines both quantitative and qualitative methodology. There will be three (3) home visits to each family. During the first three visits, parents will be provided with the following: a) The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), b) The Parental Stress Index / Short Form-PSI-SF Questionnaire, Abidin, 1995, Lese 2013 for the Greek population), c) Beck Depression Inventory Scale (BDI), d) The Symptom Checklist-90 Scale, e) The Parental Self-Efficacy Scale of Children with ASD, f) The Parenting Self-Agency Measure g) The Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory- Form OS-40), h) The Self Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire, i) Semi-structured interview with parents based on the strategies proposed by Brinkmann and Kvale (2008) and focus on a series of interrelated topics related to psychological content questions. Then, there will be seven (7) group meetings with the parents of children with ASD, where the Cygnet program will be implemented. After the psychoeducational intervention, the Scales and questionnaires will be re-allocated to investigate and record changes in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Three (3) months after the intervention there will be a follow-up to draw definitive conclusions on its effectiveness. The proposed research is expected to enrich the scientific knowledge about the quality, effectiveness and emotional manifestations of the interactions of children with ASD, aged 4 to 8 years, with their parents, in order to clarify the functional but mainly dysfunctional dimensions. At the same time, it is expected to contribute to a better and deeper understanding of the mental and emotional state of parents of children with ASD who are exclusively burdened with their support, and are in need of maintaining good mental health, a high sense of self-efficacy and adequate satisfaction in their role. In the absence of the above, the normal relationship between the parents and the child with ASD is at stake, and the risk of rejection of the child with consequent dramatic effects on their development is possible.
Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cygnet Program, psychoeducation, parental role, parent emotional state, parent mental health
