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Description
Mental and physical strain of families with children with autism. Social exclusion, a reduction in competencies and abilities of self-advocacy, and a presentation of needs. Problems within the community where the behaviour of a child with ASD often degrades families in the normal functioning of the community. The aim is to teach families with children with autism to present their problems and needs and to describe, defend and solve them independently.
1. Needs analysis and support
2. Counselling for families - providing relevant, up-to-date info. on available services, experts etc.
3. Guiding - reduce psychological burden of caregivers through therapeutic support, strengthening parental competencies towards adequate care for children with autism and strengthen the empowerment in crisis management. Brings the ability to present the needs of themselves and their children and integrate into society.
4. Development of a methodology, with the aim of introducing this method to the general public, pointing out important topics and milestones in working with families, but also pitfalls. The methodology will be publicly available.
5. Data collection
Methodology: verification on a group of 5 families, lead through this methodology and in a control group of 5 families, which will not be guided. In this comparison, we will be able to point out the effectiveness and significance or insignificance of the method. We consider the achievement of a needs survey in the region of more than 300 responses cumulatively, at least 100 responses from caring families and 100 responses from experts. Project will support 100 families, and create one guidance methodology. The first crucial indicator is the change in the family system, especially for parents who will experience less psychological stress, will be able to actively address conflict and crisis situations through their own coping strategies that will not lead to cyclical crises or their deepening.
Summary of project results
We perceive as significant the fact that there have been changes in the family system, especially in the case of parents, who experience less
psychological stress now, as they are able to actively solve conflict and crisis situations through newly acquired coping strategies that do not lead to cyclical crises or their
deepening. According to the feedback, the families regularly gained insight into their situation and adopted possibilities (techniques, methods, new strategies) to work with
problem and crisis situations. Large number families are therefore more confident in dealing with situations they did not know how to deal with and are eventually able to
resolve these situations independently. Families often reflected an increase in self-confidence in the area of caring for their child, reduction of psychological burden,
change in the family system, ability to solve problems on your own or through networked services, activities, experts, increased self-confidence in communication with the
authorities and presenting and defending needs externally, greater ability to keep personal boundaries in connection with pressure from the environment or family members,
higher rate of use of available services.
An analysis of the future needs of caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder was carried out by the social company SocioFactor s.r.o. The aim of the research
was to identify the future needs of parents,who care for children suffering from autism spectrum disorders. The research mainly showed the degree of readiness of caregivers
to manage different situations and the way of seeing "ahead", a more strategic approach to needs of children with ASD during their life path, shaping caregivers'' ideas
about the future, seeing long-term goals and directing their role as a caregiver.
A methodology was created that led us to greater professional anchoring and improvement of the methods and techniques we use when working with families.