Division of Labor in Families of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Couples who have a child or adolescent with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are faced with the difficult decision of how to divide child care responsibilities and paid employment. The authors examined the division of labor and its relation to parenting stress and marital adjustment in 73 married couples who have a child or adolescent with ASD. Mothers and fathers independently reported on their global level of parenting stress and marital adjustment and then completed a 7‐day online daily diary of time spent in child care, time spent in paid employment, and satisfaction with the time that one's spouse spent in child care. Overall, couples demonstrated a pattern of partial role specialization in which mothers engaged in more child care and fathers engaged in more paid employment. Child age was negatively related and degree of disability was positively related to role specialization. Time spent in paid employment and satisfaction with the time that one's spouse spent in child care had important associations with parenting stress and marital adjustment.     

Changing patterns of parent–teacher communication and parent involvement from preschool to school

This study investigated the nature of parent involvement and parent–educator communication in prior-to-school early childhood settings and school, to explore relations to social capital variables and consistencies and changes in practices over time. Parent interview and teacher questionnaire data from two waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were analysed. Results indicated that parental involvement and communication decreased as children moved from prior-to-school settings to school. Educators in both settings reported using similar strategies to promote parent involvement and communication, but there were setting differences for parents' ratings of communication effectiveness. Using regression analyses, family socio-economic position (SEP), home language (English versus other), Indigenous status and home educational activities were examined as predictors of parent involvement and communication strategies, and effectiveness. Results showed that parents who were more engaged in education activities at home were more involved in their child's early childhood and school settings, had more frequent communication with educators and rated educator communication effectiveness more highly. SEP and home language were less consistent predictors, and Indigenous status was not associated with any of the measures.     

Parental Distress as a Mediator of Problem Behaviors in Sons of Alcohol‐Involved Families*

Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that parental distress would mediate the relations between parental lifetime alcohol and physical health problems and child behavior problems. Participants were 182 alcohol‐involved families and 83 matched controls with 3‐ to 5‐year‐old biological sons. Results show that sons of parents with alcohol and physical health problems are at elevated risk for behavior problems, partly related to the increased levels of distress their parents are experiencing.     

孤独症谱系障碍儿童感觉异常现况调查及相关临床特征的关联分析

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探讨学龄前孤独症谱系障碍（ASD）患儿的感觉处理特征,为ASD的早期筛查和干预训练提供理论依据。

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使用自行编制的基本情况问卷及感觉处理测量（SPM）问卷,采取儿童主要照顾者填写的方式,对215例ASD患儿和170名正常发育（TD）儿童开展调查,按年龄和性别分层,比较ASD患儿和TD儿童SPM问卷不同能区得分的差异,分析学龄前ASD患儿的感觉处理特征。

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ASD患儿在SPM的社会参与、视觉、听觉、触觉、味觉与嗅觉、本体觉、前庭功能、动作计划能区及整体感觉系统得分高于TD儿童（均P<0.01）;ASD患儿在听觉能区的异常程度最高,味觉与嗅觉能区的异常程度最低。Spearman相关性分析结果显示在4、5岁ASD患儿中,SPM视觉（r_s\t\t\t\t\t\t =-0.200,P=0.033）、听觉能区（r_s\t\t\t\t\t\t =-0.194,P=0.040）得分随年龄的增长呈下降趋势,其他能区得分与年龄无相关性（均P>0.05）。在男童和女童中,ASD儿童SPM问卷的各能区得分高于TD儿童（均P<0.001）,ASD男童和女童SPM问卷各能区得分差异无统计学意义（均P>0.05）。

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ASD患儿普遍存在感觉处理异常,与TD儿童存在多个感觉域差异,感觉处理异常有可能作为ASD早期筛查的指标,有必要针对ASD患儿的感觉处理异常进行相应干预训练。

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Autism spectrum disorders

In this article we use BEACH data to examine changes in the management rate of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) from 2001 to 2011 in children aged <18 years. We also look at encounters where autism was managed during 2006-2011.     

Parent support programmes and policies in the Caribbean

ABSTRACT

The authors, through a consultancy with the Caribbean Child Development Centre, the University of the West Indies Open Campus, sought to identify comprehensive parent support programmes and policies in the healthcare sector in non-Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries. As mapping researchers, the authors were contracted to map policies and programmes in the healthcare sector whose aims were to support both family wellbeing and children’s healthy development. A review of the existing literature about parenting practices and parenting support programming in the Caribbean was conducted. A catalogue of existing programmes and policies in non-Spanish speaking Caribbean countries was compiled using relevant documents and interviews from primary sources involved in the programmes and the development and implementation of policies. This article outlines the trends identified during the interviews and mapping exercise.     

How much do they need to be the same? What parents believe about continuity between home and childcare environments

This study explores the associations among parental education, weekly work hours, child behaviours, and parental daily hassles and parents desires for continuity between home and childcare. Data were collected using questionnaires from 82 parents with a child attending centre-based childcare in the Midwestern US. Results indicate that parent education and work hours are directly and indirectly related to the desire of continuity of practice between home and childcare programme and parental daily hassles. Path analysis results show higher parental education decreases parents desire for continuity of practices, while more weekly work hours increases parents desire for continuity of practices. Additional findings related to education, parental daily hassles and child behaviours are reported. Future research should investigate the perceptions of parents and the fit between the offerings of the centre and parental expectations for both familial and child adjustment.     

How can we reach reluctant parents in childcare programmes?

Young children benefit most from their experiences in childcare centres when their parents are actively involved in centre activities. However, childcare professionals sometimes face obstacles in engaging and maintaining cooperative working relationships with families. This is especially true for families that are hard to reach or families that are reluctant to develop or maintain such a relationship. This article provides childcare professionals with a framework for understanding various factors – both external and internal to families – which might impede the development of such a relationship. Further, the article describes techniques for working with different types of family patterns in ways that increase the likelihood of centres and families providing a nurturing environment for their children.     

Parents and preschool workers’ perceptions of competence,collaboration, and strategies for addressing bullying in early childhood

The purpose of this study was to explore and compare parents’ (n?=?141) and preschool workers’ (n?=?81) perceptions of bullying with respect to preschool workers’ competence, collaboration with parents, and strategies for dealing with bullying. Whereas most participants held positive views about their collaboration, preschool workers tended to be more critical of parents than vice versa. With respect to strategies, we found that the order of preferred approaches was largely consistent across groups, yet the two groups differed in the degree to which they supported certain approaches. Among parents, lower perceptions of children’s well-being and increased exposure to bullying were associated with more negative views of collaboration and preschool competence. Parents who had little direct exposure to bullying were more likely to report that they lacked the knowledge needed to evaluate the competence of preschool workers. Taken together with previous research, these findings suggest that preschools often rely on a reactive approach to including parents in the process of addressing bullying. We argue that a more proactive stance is warranted.