Feasibility of OT-Parentship: An intervention for parents of adolescents with autism.
Batel Wachspress, Itai Berger, Adina Maeir and 1 others
PMID 40337119WHAT IT FOUND
Ten families completed a 13-session coaching programme for parents of teens with autism.
Parents reported high satisfaction, and their own and their child's performance in daily tasks improved significantly, with gains maintained at three-month follow-up.
Key findings
01All ten families completed the intervention and follow-up, and reported high satisfaction, with 90% wanting to continue the process.
02Parents reported significant improvements in their own and their adolescent's performance on chosen daily goals immediately after the intervention, which were maintained at three-month follow-up.
03Parental resilience scores showed a non-significant trend during the intervention but a significant improvement from baseline to three-month follow-up.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
No control group, so improvements cannot be attributed solely to the intervention rather than natural development or other factors. Very small sample size (ten families), limiting generalisability. Only mothers' data were included in the statistical analysis, despite some fathers participating. Convenience sampling from autism centers and social media likely selected for highly motivated families. The intervention required significant commitment (13 sessions over ~6 months), which may not be suitable for all families.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The research was partially supported by a student research grant from the Hebrew University Autism Center.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the significant improvements in daily performance as proof that this specific intervention causes these changes. Without a control group, these gains could be due to natural adolescent development, the placebo effect of attention, or other concurrent supports, and the study was too small to rule out chance.