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 whichmanifests itself with social interaction and communication disorder and repetitive behaviorsand 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 anddepression in parents of children with ASD are high, their perceptions of social supportare low, and their family functioning is impaired. This study aims to investigate the effectof the Psychoeducational Group Family Education Program (PGFEP), developed by theresearchers for families of children diagnosed with ASD within 0-2 years, on parents'stress, depression, social support perception, and family functions. The effect of thePGFEP was examined with a pilot study before the main implementation. This study wasconducted with the pre-test post-test weak experimental design. Data were analyzed bythe Wilcoxon signed-rank test. When the data were analyzed, the PGFEP was observedto reduce the stress and depression levels of the parents and increase the level of perceivedsocial support in general. However, it was observed that the program did not havea statistically significant effect on the family functions of the parents of children with ASD.