Feasibility of OT-Parentship: An intervention for parents of adolescents with autism

Abstract

Introduction: Parents of individuals with autism face various difficulties, among which are decreased resilience and heightened stress. OT-Parentship is an intervention for parents of adolescents with autism that aims to promote parental resilience and enhance adolescents’ participation in daily life. This study examines OT-Parentship’s feasibility and explores the improvement of parental resilience and child and parent occupational performance following intervention. Methods: A mixed methods pre-post and follow up study. Fourteen parents (six mothers and four couples) of adolescents with autism participated in a series of 13 individual weekly sessions of 90 minutes each. Study results were analyzed before, after, and 3 months post intervention. Results: All parents completed treatment, with 100% adherence to sessions. Therapist’s treatment fidelity was estimated at 95–97% and parent homework completion was 85%. Preliminary efficacy findings show significant improvement in mothers’ and adolescents’ occupational performance and improvement in maternal resiliency. Conclusion: Research results support the feasibility of the OT-Parentship as a family centered, strength-based, intervention program that leads to improvements in adolescent participation and parental resilience.