Abstract
Fathers of children on the autism spectrum are often in need of support due to high levels of parenting stress and the complexity associated with raising these children. While the importance of the fathering role as both parent and partner is well recognized, the recruitment of fathers into support programs is often resource intensive and generally fails to achieve desired levels of enrollment and retention. Text2dads explored paternal engagement with a program providing text-based information and support to smartphones of Australian fathers (N = 184) raising children on the autism spectrum. The evaluation is scaffolded by Piotrowska et al.’s CAPE model of engagement—Connection, Attendance, Participation and Enactment. Analysis demonstrated high rates of connection and participation when compared to other father-focused interventions. Evidence from response rates, comments and surveys demonstrate that fathers actively participated in the project while also reporting that they applied information gained from Text2dads in their parenting behavior. Advances in mobile communication have created opportunities to engage with fathers using alternative modes of intervention. The present study demonstrates support for the acceptability of this cost effective and highly scalable program.
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Acknowledgements
The contribution that staff from Positive Partnerships is acknowledged. Thank you to Alison McCrae, Laura Boyle, Craig Smith, Health Wild and Lee Casuscelli for all that you have done in the development and implementation of this project.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (University of Newcastle’s Human Research Ethics Committee, Reference No: H-2018-0286 and the Human Research Ethics Committee at Autism Spectrum Australia, Reference: Text2dad) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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May, C.D., St George, J.M. & Lane, S. From Presence to Participation: Engagement with an SMS Program for Fathers of Children on the Autism Spectrum. J Child Fam Stud 30, 29–37 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01845-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01845-8