Development and Validation of a Home-based Psychosocial Intervention Module for Parents of Children with Autism...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Public Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents significant challenges for families in India due to limited access to affordable early intervention and treatment.
• Shortages of trained professionals and high therapy costs exacerbate parental struggles with behavioral and developmental issues.
• Existing interventions often focus on clinic-based or resource-intensive approaches, failing to address real-world constraints in low-resource settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a culturally appropriate, low-cost, home-based psychosocial intervention module for parents of children with ASD in India.
• To integrate evidence-based strategies with parental perspectives and expert input for practical application in resource-limited environments.
• To create a scalable model that complements existing treatments and bridges critical service gaps in ASD care.

Main Methods:

• A two-phase approach was employed: module development (Phase I) and validation (Phase II) between August 2022 and November 2023.
• Phase I involved literature review, semi-structured parent interviews, and expert consultations to identify culturally relevant intervention components.
• Phase II utilized content and face validation by 15 domain experts using rating scales and calculating item-content validity index (I-CVI).

Main Results:

• Key parental challenges identified included limited therapy access, stigma, and financial constraints.
• Experts rated all module items as highly relevant, with I-CVI values ranging from 0.86 to 1.00.
• Qualitative feedback highlighted the module's clarity, contextual relevance, and practicality for Indian families.

Conclusions:

• A validated, evidence-based psychosocial intervention module for ASD is now available for resource-limited settings.
• This home-based module offers a practical and culturally sensitive approach to support parents of children with ASD.
• Future pilot studies will assess the module's acceptability, usability, and impact on parental outcomes and symptom management.