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. 2021 Jan;51(1):334-340.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04538-9.

Brief Report: Preliminary Outcomes of a Peer Counselling Program for Parents of Children with Autism in the South Asian Community

Ann S Mills  1 , Kiruthiha Vimalakanthan  2 , Shivajan Sivapalan  2 , Neshanth Shanmugalingam  2 , Jonathan A Weiss  3
Affiliations

Brief Report: Preliminary Outcomes of a Peer Counselling Program for Parents of Children with Autism in the South Asian Community

Ann S Mills et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Peer volunteers have been found to be effective in delivering psychosocial interventions when they come from the same culture and share similar experiences as participants. We examined the clinical utility (feasibility and preliminary effectiveness) of a community-based, manualized, peer-delivered group counselling program to address the need for culturally responsive counselling for parents of children with autism in the South Asian community. Sixty-three parents (Mage = 43.7 years, 68% mothers) participated in the program, and reported high stable program satisfaction across sessions. Further, parents reported improved mental health and quality of life following involvement in the program, with changes noted even after the first session. Further research is warranted to assess the efficacy of this kind of parent support intervention.

Keywords: Autism; Cultural responsivity; Mental health; Parent support; Well-being.

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