Effect of group internet-supported for caregivers' affiliate stigma management program on autistic symptoms among school-age with autism spectrum disorder
Abstract:
This study is a quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest design involving two groups. The objective was to compare the mean scores of autistic symptoms in school-age with autism spectrum disorder before and after receiving a group internet-supported for caregivers affiliate stigma management program and to compare the differences in mean scores of autistic symptoms between the group, which received the program, and the control group, which received standard care. The sample consisted of 40 caregivers (parents) of school-age with autism spectrum disorder, aged 6-12 years, who met the eligibility criteria and received services at the outpatient department of Rajanukul Institute. The caregivers were paired based on caregiving duration and severity of autistic symptoms, then randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group, with 20 pairs in each group. The experimental group received the group internet-supported for caregivers affiliate stigma management program for 3 weeks, while the control group received standard nursing care. The research instruments included the autistic symptom assessment scale (ATEC), the group internet-supported for caregivers affiliate stigma management program, and the affiliate stigma assessment scale. Data were analyzed using t-test statistics. The results of the study were as follows: 1. The mean autistic symptom scores of school-age with autism spectrum disorder in the experimental group were significantly lower after the intervention compared to before the experiment (p < .001). 2. The mean difference in autistic symptom scores between the experimental group and the control group was statistically significant at the .05 level. The findings of this study suggested that using the group internet-supported for caregivers affiliate stigma management program helps reduce autistic symptoms in school-age with autism spectrum disorder.