Assessment of a psychiatry day hospital program for autistic preschoolers with aggravating symptoms and their parents

Student project started in December 2017 (Véronique Langlois' Doctoral essay) ans ended in 2019. Publications are in preparation.

If you need more informations, please email: veroniqueclanglois@gmail.com

Project description

It is recommended that children with autism spectrum disorder and aggravating symptoms be able to access specialized services for the assessment and management of associated conditions (NICE, 2013). However, there are few studies evaluating interventions with autistic children with associated problems (Mannion and Leader, 2013) and most include a small proportion of children under the age of 6 (Simonoff et al, 2008 ). Furthermore, the integration of strengths and interests in assessments and interventions appears to be a promising but little documented practice (Cosden, Koegel, Koegel, Greenwell, & Klein, 2006; Dunst, Trivette, & Hamby, 2012; Steiner, 2011 ).

As part of an assessment of program implementation, the objectives of this study are: a) To document the strengths and interests of the children admitted to the “Pas à Pas” day hospital program; b) To explore which components of the program build on the specific interests and strengths of autistic children (Mottron et al., 2006); c) To examine the factors that may affect implementation, i.e. describe certain characteristics of the children, parents and the program (Durlak & DuPre, 2008; Hasson, 2010).

Ultimately, this project should inform a Day Hospital program for autistic preschoolers that takes into account the atypical developmental trajectory of these children as well as their strengths and interests.

The results obtained should make it possible to generate a directory of evaluation and intervention strategies relating to these strengths and interests. Results will also allow us but to better understand the parents of these young children with special needs, and to suggest possible solutions to improve parental support and parental involvement in the intervention.

Research team

  
Student InvestigatorVéronique Langlois, ps. éd.Université du Québec en Outaouais
SupervisorLaurent Mottron, M.D., Ph. D.Université de Montréal
Co-supervisorClaudine Jacques, ps. éd., Ph. D.Université du Québec en Outaouais
CollaboratorGhitza ThermidorCIUSSS NIM

Funding Organisations

Birks Foundation

Chaire de recherche Marcel et Rolande Gosselin en neurosciences cognitives fondamentales et appliquées du spectre autistique de l'Université de Montréal