Abstract
Parents' views about acting as cotherapists in a home-based behavioral treatment for their autistic child were investigated. Three areas were studied: (1) the demands involved in being a cotherapist, (2) whether parents felt more able to cope with their child after treatment, and (3) whether they had the same conception of the treatment's aims as did the therapists involved. Parents viewed their treatment more favorably than a comparison group of parents receiving more usual forms of treatment. Most had an accurate impression of treatment but half found it hard to use the methods suggested. Although parents felt that their child improved as a result of treatment, several had stopped using the techniques or felt unable to apply them to new problems.
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This work was supported by grant number 7007 from the Bethlem/Maudsley Research Fund. Thanks are due to Professor Michael Rutter and Dr. William Yule for their helpful advice on this paper, and to the parents who participated in the study.
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Holmes, N., Hemsley, R., Rickett, J. et al. Parents as cotherapists: Their perceptions of a home-based behavioral treatment for autistic children. J Autism Dev Disord 12, 331–342 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01538321
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01538321