Parent Training and Therapy in Children with Autism

Abstract

With the introduction of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5th ed. (DSM-5) autism spectrum disorders (ASD) fall into the category of neurodevelopmental disorders. ASD is characterized by the inhibitory mechanisms responsible for social adaptation and emotional expression being underdeveloped, causing a child’s recognition and understanding of emotions to be impaired. Our study hypothesizes that early intervention using behavioral interventions such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and reflexive functions (RF) training on parents can improve the development of joint attention (JA), a cognitive precursor to the theory of mind (ToM) and mentalization processes. We considered a sample of 84 children aged between 20 and 30 months who had received a diagnosis of risk of autism spectrum disorder (level 1). The sample was divided into two groups of 42 subjects, in the first group we carried out a weekly behavioral parent training (PT) based only on ABA principles, while in the second group we carried out a weekly PT aimed at improving reflective functions and parental awareness according to a model inspired by the model based on emotional mirroring and mentalization of Fonagy. Our study shows that parents who are able to make sense of both their own mental state and that of their child can serve as a protective factor for the child’s development even in atypical developmental situations such as in ASD.

Depression in autism: Unmasking the mediating role of mentalization, attachment, perceived social support, and psychological flexibility

“…In our study, the depressive symptoms assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and mentalization processes: they showed that parents who were able to make sense of both their own mental state and that of their child can serve as a protective factor for the child's development even in atypical developmental situations such as in ASD (Frolli et al, 2021). In our view, it is not only parents of children with ASD who may benefit from this type of training, but also the adult development (reflective functioning, mentalizing) of the individuals themselves, if this was not done earlier in their lives.…”

Emotional Rational Education Training Associated with Mindfulness for Managing Anxiety within Adolescents Affected by High-Functioning Autism: A Descriptive Study

“…Data analyses were performed with SPSS 26.0 [ 3 , 40 ]. Significance was accepted at the 5% level ( p < 0.05).…”

“…This syndrome differs from other pervasive developmental disorders due to the absence of clinically significant delays in cognitive development, language, adaptive behavior and autonomy. Asperger’s syndrome, first mentioned in DSM-IV [ 1 ], is no longer present in DSM-5 [ 2 , 3 ]; currently, individual situations previously classified as Asperger’s syndrome continue to exist clinically but fall within the level 1 autism spectrum disorders (ASD) [ 2 ]. In the present paper, we use the tag HFA.…”

Targeting Shank3 deficiency and paresthesia in autism spectrum disorder: A brief review

“…These studies contribute to improving people’s understanding of the relationship between somatic and mental symptoms in developmental disorders. It points to common genetic pathways and other potential mechanisms that may be involved ( Dovey et al, 2019 ; Frolli et al, 2021 ). In addition, the simultaneous assessment of medical and psychiatric disorders may be of great value.…”