Parent-Mediated Therapy
Jessica Scarcella, Marina Caldognetto, Martina Cambiano, Giulia Bono, Maritza Gabriele, Clara Covello, Paolo Cappa
Parent-mediated therapy (PMT) refers to those interventions that the parent, under the supervision of a specialist, delivers to the child. The period of the health emergency, linked to Covid-19, highlighted the difficulties of parents in managing their children. This criticality, added to the increase and precocity of autism diagnoses and the limitations of resources in the health services, led us to reflect on the limits of the interventions which had been proposed up to that moment. From the information taken from the PMT model developed by the research group of the Neuropsychiatry Complex Operating Unit of the Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital in Rome, a PMT model was tested in ASL TO4, by the DPS (Pervasive Developmental Disorders) Unit of Settimo T.se, part of the Neuropsychiatry Public Health Out-Patient Services, for 5 children in the risk range or diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder aged between 24 and 36 months, whether associated to a parent training course or not. The efficacy, in terms of parents’ increased skills and their active role, was compared with a traditional treatment programme delivered to 2 children in the same age group. From the qualitative analysis of these preliminary data, it can be deduced that the association between parent-mediated therapy and psychoeducation was the most effective intervention modality in order to create a relationship of trust and collaboration with the family and to make parents «active agents», aware, competent and more autonomous in the management of their children, relieving them of their sense of inadequacy. However, these data will need to be further confirmed on a larger sample and with the help of quantitative and statistical evaluations.
Keywords
Autism spectrum disorders, Parent mediated therapy, Parent training, Parent supporting.
