Assessing the effectiveness of counseling in building skills for educational inclusion in children with ASD

Context and relevance. One component in the development of the system of support for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is providing pedagogical psychologists with ready-made algorithms that would establish a standard of professional action when families raising a child with ASD seek help. An example of such an algorithm is the Protocol of Activity of the Pedagogical Psychologist for Psychological and Pedagogical Counseling of Children (Students) with ASD and Their Parents, developed by specialists of the Federal Resource Center for ASD of MSUPE. One of the most challenging tasks regulated by the Protocol is counseling parents on issues of child development. The effectiveness of this stage of work depends primarily on the specialist's ability, within a short-term appointment, to correctly select the skills whose formation is critical for the child's development, and to train the family to work on them. However, empirical data allowing assessment of the extent to which the described format of a single consultation ensures the achievement of these tasks are insufficient. Objective. To assess the effectiveness of a single counseling session conducted in accordance with the Protocol for developing skills in children necessary for their inclusion in the educational environment. Hypothesis. A single structured counseling session aimed at selecting individualized target skills and training parents in methods for developing them results in children with ASD achieving the expected level of skill attainment after three months of independent parental work. Methods and materials. A single-group prospective study was conducted with outcome measurement 90 days after the counseling session. Eighteen families of children with ASD of early and preschool age participated in the study. For each child, five individualized target skills were selected across three content categories (communication and speech, cooperation and learning, play and social interaction). The level of skill attainment was rated by parents on the 5-point Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS); the clarity of the counseling session for the parent was also assessed. Results. The mean level of target skill attainment significantly exceeded the expected level (d = 0,83); the expected level was reached in 89% of children. A significant predictor of successful attainment of a specific skill was the clarity of the counseling session for the parent. Uneven dynamics of skill development were observed depending on the skill category. Conclusions. A single structured counseling session in the format described in the Protocol ensures achievement of the expected level of attainment of individualized target skills in the majority of children with ASD within a three-month period.

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