FacebookTwitter
  • CAREERS
  • CONTACT US
Top Bar Menu
 
Hussman Institute for AutismHussman Institute for Autism
Hussman Institute for Autism
Advancing Discovery. Embracing Differences. Enabling Communication. Presuming Ability.
  • Home
  • Our Research
    • Program on Neuroscience
      • Autism and Brain Development Laboratory: Migration
      • Autism Neurocircuitry Laboratory: Neurochemistry
      • Human Stem Cell Neurophysiology Laboratory
      • Neural Circuit Development Laboratory: Adhesion
      • Neuronal Connectivity Laboratory: Cytoskeleton
      • Laboratory of Neural Circuits & Behavior: Electrophysiology
    • Program on Supports
      • Augmentative & Alternative Communication
      • Positive Behavior Supports
      • Communication and Inclusion
  • Our People
  • Programs & Events
  • TRANSLATE Blog
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
  • About the Institute
Menu back  

Parental optimism, school inclusion may affect long-term progress of individuals with autism

April 12, 2016UncategorizedBy Sarah Hansen
Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Friendly

A new study by Ashley Woodman, PhD., and colleagues identifies factors that may increase individuals’ chances of attaining positive changes in their daily living skills, challenging behaviors, and core autism challenges over time.  While some factors the team identified are beyond the control of families, two critical ones are not: 1) the extent of school inclusion and 2) parental optimism were associated with positive trajectories in the three key areas over a ten year period during adolescence and early adulthood.  Parental optimism was based on the positivity of the mother; the study did not include paternal data.

The research team analyzed data collected at six time points across a ten year period from 364 families in Massachusetts and Wisconsin that had a child with autism who was at least 10 years old at the start of the study.  The data included basic demographics as well as information about verbal ability, intellectual disability, inclusion status, challenging behaviors, daily living skills, corart_amanda JP_claye autism challenges, and maternal positivity/criticalness.

The researchers used statistical methods to classify the participants into two distinct groups based on the data collected during the study.  The groups were defined based on changes over time in three key areas: daily living skills, challenging behaviors, and core autism challenges.  Group 1 had a more positive trajectory overall.  Group 1 and Group 2 both reduced their challenging behaviors during the ten year period at a similar rate, but Group 1 presented fewer challenging behaviors at the outset.  Group 1 members began with significantly fewer core autism challenges and more daily living skills, and they reduced their challenges and grew their skills over time.  In contrast, Group 2 began with more core challenges and fewer daily living skills, and did not decrease their core challenges or grow their skills over time.

Next, the researchers sought to identify characteristics that could predict whether an individual would fall into Group 1 or Group 2, which could help to identify interventions to make a positive pattern of change more likely.  Older individuals were more likely to be in Group 1, and individuals with an intellectual disability label were less likely to be in Group 1.  Gender and maternal education played no role in group placement.  Children with more verbal ability at ages 4 and 5 were more likely to be in Group 1, as were those with fewer core challenges.

While these factors may be out of the hands of families, other important factors are not.  To measure maternal positivity, the researchers asked each mother to speak freely about her child for five minutes at the start of the study.  Each additional positive comment she made was associated with a 25 percent increase in her child’s chances of being classified in Group 1, even after controlling for other factors.  However, the number of negative comments did not relate to a child’s change trajectory.  Also, individuals who experienced full inclusion were five times as likely to experience positive change, and even those with partial inclusion were four times as likely.Emily and Arielle

The study did not establish whether these correlations are causative: that parental optimism and school inclusion lead to positive change. But emerging evidence suggests that this may be the case. For example, in a 2009 longitudinal study of children with disabilities and behavior problems, researcher Mark Durand and colleagues found that parental optimism was the single best predictor of how well-adapted the children would be years later, even though some of the more optimistic parents had children with more severe challenges at the beginning of the study.

Still, the authors of the present study note that it provides evidence of association only, and that causation might run in the other direction (e.g. inclusion happened because a child already showed a positive trend in behavior).  This study’s data set also did not parse the quality of a child’s inclusion, which varies greatly.  Although only associative, this work points in an important direction for future research.  Uncovering the factors that have the strongest impact on the progress of children with autism could help parents provide a supportive environment that is conducive to growth.  If confirmed, this research suggests that 1) parental optimism – particularly focusing on a child’s strengths and positive attributes – and 2) inclusive education may be important ingredients to prepare children with autism for success throughout life.

 

References:

Woodman AC, Smith LE, Greenberg JS & Mailick MR. (2016). Contextual factors predict patterns of change in functioning over 10 years among adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46:176-189.

Durand, V. M., Hieneman, M., Clarke, S., & Zona, M. (2009). Optimistic parenting: Hope and help for parents with challenging children. In W. Sailor, G. Dunlap, G. Sugai, & R. H. Horner (Eds.), Handbook of positive behavior support (pp. 233–256). New York, NY: Springer.

About the author

Sarah Hansen

Sarah Hansen is the Communications Associate at the Hussman Institute for Autism. She works to share the Institute's research and programs with families, educators, and anyone else interested in learning more about how to support individuals with autism. She holds a Master of Science in Biological Sciences from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and Master of Arts in Teaching and Bachelor of Science degrees from Cornell University. Before joining the Hussman Institute, she taught middle and upper school science at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, MD.

Related posts
Tracking systems to keep your family member safe
February 8, 2016
  • “The soul must be loved as it is.”

    Jamie Burke
  • “Autism awareness can’t stop with a list of what makes people with autism different from us. Because what is essential is the constant awareness of what makes us the same.”

    John P. Hussman, Ph.D., Director
  • “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

    The Little Prince

    Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
  • “We agree with the view that presuming competence is the least dangerous assumption.”

    John P. Hussman, Ph.D., Director
  • “Autism is not disability.”

    Jamie Burke
  • “We are just like you, with the same desires, and just need help to be typical members of society.”

    Sue Rubin
  • “In the end, the best argument for inclusion is the simplest. It’s the one we know by heart – that all of us are created equal.”

    John P. Hussman, Ph.D., Director
Subscribe & Stay Informed
Recent Activity:
  • Autism Kit for First Responders
    April 21, 2022
  • Supporting Students with Special Needs: Online Training Modules for School-Based Professionals who Support Students with Disabilities
    April 16, 2019
  • Parental optimism, school inclusion may affect long-term progress of individuals with autism
    April 12, 2016
  • Young adults with autism increase empathic communication with training
    March 24, 2016
Contact

  • follow us:

Administration & Program on Autism Supports
Hussman Institute for Autism
6021 University Blvd, Ste 490
Ellicott City, MD 21043
Phone 443-860-2580 | Email info@hussmanautism.org

Research Laboratories
Hussman Institute for Autism
1011 Sunnybrook Road, Ninth Floor
Miami, FL 33136
(3 blocks from the Hussman Institute for Human Genomics)
Phone 443-860-2580 | Email info@hussmanautism.org

site development by

© 2013 - 2017 Hussman Institute for Autism