Abstract
The purpose of this study was to understand caregivers’ experience of participating in a caregiver-mediated in-home feeding intervention, the Engaged Eaters Program, for their young autistic child. This qualitative study utilized a thematic approach to analyze post-intervention semi-structured interviews with thirteen mothers of autistic children between the ages of 2 to 7 years after they participated in the intervention. Interview questions focused on the child and family experience, what worked well, what could be improved, and how the intervention integrated into family routines. Four major themes were identified: In-Home Intervention, Parent Skill and Knowledge, Increased Social Participation, and Parent Responsibilities and Challenges. Sub-themes provided descriptions of learning practical tools to support their child, increasing self-efficacy, and impacts on family life. Mothers described an increase in tangible skills that were easily practiced in the home environment that improved their confidence and self-efficacy in feeding their children. They also described how participation did require more work and time commitment for them beyond their regular responsibilities. The caregiver experience is essential to understand for intervention effectiveness while simultaneously addressing child, caregiver, and family needs. By focusing on the mothers’ experiences, individualized needs, and self-efficacy, we were able to better understand how integrating an intervention into the family context and daily routines may be beneficial for the whole family.
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Notes
Please note within our research program we use the term caregiver-mediated versus parent-mediated intervention to be more inclusive of different types of primary caregivers in children’s lives.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (Project ID: AAD3591 & AAH9891), University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (Project ID: AAA2543) and a core grant to the Waisman Center from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U54 HD090256). Manuscript content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of any of the aforementioned funding sources. The authors would like to acknowledge the families who participated in the study and thank all Ausderau Lab team members for their work on this project.
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LH, BMS, and KKA contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and intervention oversight were performed by BMS, SK, and KKA. Data analysis was performed by LH, BMS, AK, NN, MU, and KKA. The first draft of the manuscript was written by LH and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Hladik, L., St. John, B.M., Korbel, A. et al. “Giving Me the Self-Confidence to Tackle It”: Mothers’ Experiences Participating In The Engaged Eaters Program, A Caregiver-Mediated Feeding Intervention. J Autism Dev Disord (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-024-06250-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-024-06250-4