A quarterly publication of the Autism Research Institute
Spring, 2023 | Number 2, Volume 37
A new study by researchers in Canada suggests that caregivers of individuals with autism may benefit from an intervention to improve their own mental health and well-being.
Andrea Maughan and colleagues say, “Parents of autistic children commonly experience greater levels of stress, anxiety, and depression compared to parents of children who do not have a disability, and their levels of chronic stress have been shown to surpass levels experienced by parents of children with other developmental disabilities. Given the high stress experienced by parents of autistic children, it follows that parents would experience their own challenges that require parent-focused support.”
The researchers enlisted 54 parents of autistic children, adolescents, or adults in their study. They divided the parents into a treatment group that immediately participated in a program called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and a waitlist group who began the ACT program after the first group finished.
The ACT intervention consists of one three-hour and one full-day session, followed by a refresher session one month later. “The overall aim of ACT,” the researchers say, “is not to decrease psychological distress, but to increase one’s effectiveness in pursuing values that are personally meaningful, even in the context of difficult symptoms or circumstances.” Parents participating in the study filled out questionnaires before the program began and at 3, 7, and 17weeks after baseline.
The researchers report, “Compared to the group that was waiting to participate in the program, parents in the treatment group reported greater improvements in depression and family distress, and these improvements were still present fourmonths later. Parents in the treatment group also reported shortterm improvements in their positive feelings and personal goals, compared to those waiting.”
The researchers caution that their study has limitations; for instance, the treatment group was small, and not all parents in the treatment group completed all three sessions. However, they say, “Results suggest that a brief ACT group intervention is efficacious for improving some aspects of mental health for parents of autistic children.”
“Parent, child, and family outcomes following Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for parents of autistic children: A randomized controlled trial,” Andrea L. Maughan, Yona Lunsky, Johanna Lake, Jennifer S. Mills, Kenneth Fung, Lee Steel, and Jonathan A Weiss, Autism, May 2023 (free online). Address: Jonathan A Weiss, Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada, [email protected].
