Development of a communicating partner curriculum for enhancing parent-child communicating ability of autistic children's parents

Abstract

The objectives of the study are as follows: (1) to study the elements and characteristics of parent-child communication abilities of parents of autistic children; (2) to design and develop a curriculum to improve the parent-child communication abilities of participants; and (3) to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum. This research was divided into five phases: first, through analyzed literature and interviewed professionals, identified the elements and characteristics of parent-child communication abilities of the parents of autistic children. Second, through literature analysis and interviewed professionals, and determined the basic information for curriculum design. Third, through analyzed foundational data, a pilot study, and expert reviews, drafted the training curriculum; (3) 15 parents were implemented in the curriculum; (5) curriculum evaluation and revision. The findings were as follows: (1) the parent-child communication abilities of parents of autistic children and consisted of four elements: constructing a good communication environment, eliciting communication behaviors in children, understanding the communication messages expressed by the child, and assisting children in understanding communication messages; (2) the curriculum was comprised of 25 hours, consisting of three modules and nine learning units. Each unit includes four steps: Trigger, Reflection, Architecting the New Experience, and Integration; and (3) all participating parents showed significant improvement in their communication abilities, with a significance level of 0.05, and they all expressed high satisfaction with the curriculum.

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