None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
One in 100 children is diagnosed with Autism. Up to 70% of children with Autism also experience mental illnesses including anxiety and depression. In addition to the impact of Autism on children, the mental illnesses they suffer from are of at least the same severity as that of their disability. However, unlike Autism, mental health problems are reversible and preventable. Emotion-based Social Skills Training (EBSST, also known as the Westmead Feelings Program) is a therapy program for children with Autism and co-occurring ID, their parents and teachers and includes a practitioner training and certification program. A controlled trial has demonstrated that school counsellor delivered EBSST improves emotions competence and reduces symptoms of mental disorder in children with ASD/ID. Utilising teachers in the delivery of mental health interventions is important given there are often barriers to therapy (such as cost, time, and travel) that prevent families from accessing much needed services. Additionally, school-based delivery can lead to positive changes within schools such as enhanced relationships between teachers, parents, and children. A pilot study demonstrated that special educator delivered EBSST is feasible and acceptable and results in qualitative improvements in child emotions competence and mental health. The current project extends on these findings by investigating whether EBSST delivered by teachers in eight schools is acceptable and feasible from the perspective of children, parents and teachers. The project will also examine whether EBSST is associated with improvements in child emotions competence, social skills, and mental health symptoms post-treatment and at 3-month follow-up. For a subset of participants, the project will examine whether improvements in emotions competence, social skills, and mental health symptoms are different from a period of treatment-as-usual, compared to a period of EBSST delivery. The current project also examines the impact that EBSST has on the mental health of parents of children with ASD, who have been reported to experience high levels of stress and distress. Sixteen teachers will be recruited to participate in the study to deliver EBSST to children in their classes and their parents. It is expected that approximately 75 children and 40 parents will participate. Teachers will deliver sixteen child EBSST sessions and six parent EBSST sessions across three school terms. Teacher aides and parents will complete questionnaires about child emotions competence and child and parent mental health. Children will complete a questionnaire about how EBSST impacted their learning. It is hypothesised that teacher-delivered EBSST will be acceptable and feasible, and EBSST will be associated with concurrent improvements of child emotions competence, social skills, mental health, and parent mental health.
Interventions
Emotion-based Social Skills Training, also known as the Westmead Feelings Program 1: emotion-based learning for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability (WFP 1) is a mental health promotion intervention that teaches children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities emotion competence skills and reduces anxious and depressive symptomatology. Three modules comprise of WFP 1: 1) understanding emotions, 2) problem solving and perspective taking, and 3) m
Emotion-based Social Skills Training, also known as the Westmead Feelings Program 1: emotion-based learning for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability (WFP 1) is a mental health promotion intervention that teaches children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities emotion competence skills and reduces anxious and depressive symptomatology. Three modules comprise of WFP 1: 1) understanding emotions, 2) problem solving and perspective taking, and 3) managing emotions. WFP comprises of sessions for children, and sessions for parents and teachers so they can become emotion coaches for their children and promote the generalization and maintenance of skills across situations and time. Sessions are delivered by facilitators who are educators with experience supporting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder who have completed two-days of WFP Training and Certification to ensure knowledge, competence and skills are developed to deliver WFP. The WFP intervention is a manualised, 16-session group-based intervention for children which consists of evidence-based teaching strategies known to benefit children with Autism Spectrum Disorder including video modelling, social scripts, role plays, and take home tasks. Children are given workbooks that summarise session content. Child sessions last for one hour, and conducted face-to-face on a weekly basis by WFP facilitators for 5 weeks per WFP module, with a two week break between modules, and 1 booster session three months later. Parent sessions consist of manualised psychoeducation and skills-based training around understanding the impact of Autism on the emotion skills and wellbeing of their child and how to utilise WFP teachings in home and community environments. Six parent sessions are delivered face-to-face by WFP facilitators and are of 1-hour duration. Parent sessions are held at the beginning and end of each of three WFP modules with a booster session three months later. Parents are given presentation handouts of each session they attend to summarise session content, as well as weekly handouts summarising what their child learnt in their session and who parents can promote generalisation and practice of session content at home and in the community. Fidelity of WFP delivery will be checked by a research psychologist in 13% of the sample (i.e. two sites) using a session fidelity checklist which describes the content to be covered in sessions and strategies/activities to be utilised. One child session and one parent session will be checked for fidelity.
Sponsors
The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Prevention
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
8 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Child participants: a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and enrolled in an Autism Spectrum Australia school classroom of a teacher participant where the majority of children have a cognitive ability between 50 and 75. Parent participants: parent of a participating child. Up to two parents or carers per child will be invited to participate in this study. Teacher participants: NSW Aspect school classroom teachers of children with ASD/ID at the time of the study. Teachers will be prioritised who have higher numbers of students within the specified IQ range in their class.
Exclusion criteria
Parent participants: difficulties understanding the English language. WFP sessions and questionnaires contain content including psychological concepts that are difficult for people to understand if they have difficulties with the English language.
Outcome results
None listed