Parental Involvement in Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder: Experiences of Rehabilitation Professionals

There has been an increase in the incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) over recent years, which has given rise to an immediate increase in demand for quality intervention and trained professionals. Parental involvement is necessary for a more effective parental training, which will ensure a realistic understanding of their child's difficulties. Previous studies continuously prove that parental involvement in the lives of their children with ASD is beneficial to improvement in their children with ASD. There are no studies that illustrate the challenges that professionals face when trying to involve parents into the intervention. Based on the literature review, it can be projected that an understanding of these factors will help professionals to improvise on strategies to implement parental involvement methods with efficiency and maximize the gains of the individuals with ASD. This study aims to understand the benefits and challenges of rehabilitation professionals in involving parents for treatment of children with ASD, in the manner in which these issues were overcome. Ten professionals (2 from each domain of rehabilitation) were selected to be part of the study. The participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview questions and the data collected was thematically analysed under the light of Review of Literature. The results of the study clearly show the inevitability of parental involvement in intervention for autism. The study identified five themes: Dual model of Work, Parenting, Socio-cultural Factors, Professional Expertise of Therapist and Limitations with involvement. The present study implies that is important to take the parents' personal psychological challenges into consideration before involving them in intervention. A program that can specifically target the needs of the parent and provide them with the kind of support and knowledge that is necessary for their child can do wonders.