DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AND THEIR FAMILIES

本项目的修订目标是(1)调查自闭症儿童的早期发展过程，考察特定的儿童、家庭和干预因素对自闭症核心症状(即社会障碍、沟通和重复行为/兴趣)的稳定和变化的影响；以及(2)调查自闭症儿童的父母在幼儿期的心理健康状况，考察儿童、家庭和干预因素对正负幸福感稳定和变化的关系。这项工作以发展背景框架为基础，在这个框架中，儿童一级的过程在包括父母和家庭过程和 儿童和家庭可获得的干预措施。我们假设(1)自闭症的核心症状的严重程度直接受到共生问题行为、能力和干预服务强度的影响，间接受到儿童的易感气质和父母幸福感的影响。(2)父母的幸福感直接受到父母资源、家庭氛围、自闭症表型的严重程度以及孩子的症状和问题行为的影响。这些变量还调节了其他儿童因素的影响以及父母对其子女接受的干预服务的满意度。为了验证这些假设，我们计划通过早期干预专业服务计划招募300人 该项目旨在帮助18-33个月大的被诊断为自闭症的儿童，并对他们的发展以及家庭和父母福祉中发生的变化进行为期五年的加速交叉顺序纵向研究。我们相信，所获得的知识将为发展理论提供依据，并将导致制定更有效和反应更迅速的儿童和父母支助干预措施。

The revised aims of this project are (1) To investigate the early course of development in children with autism, examining the influence of specific child, family, and intervention factors on stability and change in the core symptoms of autism (i.e., social impairment, communication, and repetitive behaviors/interests); and (2) To investigate the psychological well-being of mothers and fathers of children with autism during early childhood, examining relations between child, family, and intervention factors on stability and change in both positive and negative well-being. This work is based in a developmental contextual framework, in which child level processes are best understood within a complex context that includes parent and family processes and the interventions available to the child and family. We hypothesize that (1) The severity of core symptoms of autism are influenced directly by the presence of co-occurring problem behaviors, competencies and the intensity of intervention services, and indirectly by the child's predisposing temperament and parental well being. (2) Parental well-being is influenced directly by parental resources, family climate, severity of the broader autism phenotype, and the child's symptoms and problem behaviors. These variables also mediate the effects of other child factors and the parents' satisfaction with the intervention services received by their child. To test these hypotheses, we plan to recruit through early intervention specialty service programs 300 18-33 month-old children diagnosed with autism and to conduct a five-year, accelerated cross-sequential longitudinal study of their development and the changes that take place in the family and in the parents' well-being. We believe that the knowledge gained will inform developmental theory and will lead to the development of more effective and responsive child and parent support interventions.