The Effect of the Family Education Program Developed for Families with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder on Parents' Family Empowerment Perceptions and Participation

Abstract

It is known that formal and informal educational support resources for what parents can do about the development of their children and how they can cope with the difficulties encountered after diagnosing individuals with ASD are insufficient. Therefore, this research was conducted to evaluate the effect of the education program developed for parents with children with ASD on their participation in children's education and their empowerment. A mixed method was used as a research method. In the study, the researcher evaluated the scale application, in which 452 randomly selected people participated. According to the research findings, the opinions of the research participants on empowering the parents of children with ASD varied between low, medium, and high. In general, it was seen that the perceptions of parents on empowerment perceptions, individual competence, and self-determination were at a moderate level, their participation was at a low level, while their perceptions of autism-related centers' efficacy and trust were at a high level. In addition, the participants' perceptions of empowerment of parents with children with ASD show significant differences according to gender, age, and marital status variables. According to the last finding of the study, family education programs applied to participants with children with ASD significantly affect their perceptions of their empowerment.