Feasibility study of a family-focused intervention to improve outcomes for children with FASD
Abstract
Background: Growing evidence shows that children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
can benefit from interventions, and specifically interventions focused on improving self-regulation.
However, novel ways of improving outcomes for children with FASD need further investigation
so that programs target not only the individual child but also the family context,
which includes the parent–child relationship.
Aims: The current study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of an adapted version of the Parents
under Pressure (PuP) program that addresses self-regulatory processes, through improving the
parent–child relationship and the use of mindfulness-based strategies for both children and
parents.
Methods: This was a mixed methods study. Feasibility was examined by evaluating recruitment,
data collection/outcome measures, and intervention procedures. The study used a phenomenological
approach to obtain qualitative information from caregivers and a single-case experimental
design to evaluate the preliminary participant responses to the intervention.
Results: Two out of three families completed treatment. The recruitment and intervention procedures
were found to be suitable for and acceptable to the families involved. Some concerns
were identified regarding the outcome measures that would need to be addressed in future research.
Quantitative and qualitative outcomes were positive.
Conclusions and implications: The results provide preliminary support for the feasibility of an
adapted version of the PuP program. Thus, offering a potential multi-component option, that
aims to improve self-regulatory skills for children with FASD, through focusing on improving the
parent-child relationship and incorporating mindfulness-based techniques for both parents and
children.
Journal Title
Research in Developmental Disabilities
Volume
67
Copyright Statement
© 2017 Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited.
Subject
Psychology not elsewhere classified