Ubeđenja roditelja o poremećajima iz spektra autizma kao faktor koji utiče na odabir tretmana

Nakon uočavanja prvih simptoma i postavljanja dijagnoze poremećaja iz spektra autizma (u daljem tekstu PSA), roditelji donose odluku o tretmanu za svoje dete, kako bi obezbedili kvalitetniji život detetu i porodici. Prilikom donošenja odluke o tretmanu, na roditelje može uticati čitav dijapazon faktora. Ubeđenja roditelja o PSA takođe mogu uticati na izbor tretmana. Cilj rada je da se utvrdi da li su roditeljska ubeđenja o PSA povezana sa odabirom tretmana. U istraživanju je učestvovao 41 roditelj dece sa PSA starosti od šest do 35 godina, na području Sombora, Beograda i Pančeva. Za potrebe istraživanja korišćeni su sledeći instrumenti: Opšti upitnik i Upitnik percepcije bolesti – Revidiran za PSA (Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire for Autism Spectrum Disorder, IPQ-R-ASD, Mire, Gealy, Kubiszyn, Burridge, & Goin-Kochel, 2017). Dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da najveći broj roditelja uključuje dete u logopedski tretman (65.8%), Primenjenu bihevioralnu analizu i tretmane zasnovane na njoj (63.5%), medikamentoznu terapiju (43.9%), defektološki tretman (34.1%) i senzornu integrativnu terapiju (31.7%). Dalje, način na koji roditelji percipiraju autizam ne utiče na to da li će oni izabrati farmakološke, komplementarne i alternativne metode ili logopedske tretmane. Međutim, ispostavilo se da percepcija kontrole ima veze sa odabirom bihevioralnih tretmana, odnosno da su roditelji koji smatraju da na neki način vladaju situacijom nad simptomima PSA skloniji uključivanju deteta u bihevioralne tretmane. Smatramo da bi bilo poželjno ponoviti ovo istraživanje na većem uzorku, sa ciljem boljeg razumevanja roditelja i njihovog doživljaja autizma.
After an insight into the first symptoms and realizing the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), parents have to make a treatment decision for their child to provide a better quality of life for them, their child, and the whole family. When choosing treatment(s), parents can be influenced by a wide range of factors. Parents’ perceptions about ASD also may play a part in decision making. The aim of this paper is to determine whether there are significant differences between parent perception about ASD and treatment choice. Forty-one respondents, with children between six to 35 years of age with ASD, from Sombor, Belgrade and Pančevo, completed the survey. For this study, the following instruments were used: Demographic Questionnaire and Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire for Autism Spectrum Disorder (IPQ-R-ASD, Mire, Gealy, Kubiszyn, Burridge, & Goin-Kochel, 2017). Parents most often use speech therapy (65.8%), ABA and other ABA-related approaches (63.5%), medications (43.9%), special education therapy (34.1%), and sensory integration therapy (31.7%). Then, perceptions about ASD did not influence deciding about speech therapy, complementary and alternative medicine strategies, or medications use. However, perception of personal control was associated with the use of behavioral approaches. That is, parents are more likely to include their child in behavioral treatments if they feel that they are in control of the situation in some way. This research should be repeated on a larger sample size, in order to better understand parents’ and their impression of autism.