Hannah Boonen

How do children with a chronic or long‐term illness perceive their school re‐entry after a period of homebound instruction?

BACKGROUND A considerable number of children are confronted with a chronic or long-term illness in their lives. For these children, absenteeism is problematic, because education plays a major role in stimulating their cognitive development and in promoting a sense of normalcy and psychosocial well-being. In the literature, a great deal of attention has been paid to school reintegration programmes, which try to counter the barriers that these children may face when they return to school. Another way of surmounting these barriers is through the use of homebound instruction, in which the educational process for the child is continued during the period of absence. Despite the growing awareness of the necessity of education for these children, there is still little empirical research available addressing programmes that facilitate school re-entry. METHODS The major goal of this study is to investigate how parents and their children with a chronic or long-term illness perceive school re-entry after a period of homebound instruction, by using a descriptive-explorative, multi-informant research design. Participants were 60 children and their parents who filled in a self-constructed questionnaire. RESULTS Both parents and children perceived the period of homebound instruction, as well as their school re-entry, predominantly positively. Most of the children stated that they had been able to keep up with their subjects, and that they had good contact with their peers when they returned to school. According to parents, homebound instruction made a positive contribution to the school re-entry of their child. CONCLUSIONS The current study is one of the first to explore the school re-entry of children with a chronic or long-term illness. According to both parents and children, the school re-entry process passed off positively. However, more research is needed with regard to the quality of education and the programmes aimed at facilitating school re-entry.

How do Parents Manage Irritability, Challenging Behaviour, Non-Compliance and Anxiety in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders? A Meta-Synthesis

Although there is increasing research interest in the parenting of children with ASD, at present, little is known about everyday strategies used to manage problem behaviour. We conducted a meta-synthesis to explore what strategies parents use to manage irritability, non-compliance, challenging behaviour and anxiety in their children with ASD. Approaches included: (1) accommodating the child; (2) modifying the environment; (3) providing structure, routine and occupation; (4) supervision and monitoring; (5) managing non-compliance with everyday tasks; (6) responding to problem behaviour; (7) managing distress; (8) maintaining safety and (9) analysing and planning. Results suggest complex parenting demands in children with ASD and problem behaviour. Findings will inform the development of a new measure to quantify parenting strategies relevant to ASD.

Parenting Behavior in Mothers of Preschool Children with ASD: Development of a Self-Report Questionnaire

Parents of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) encounter many daily challenges and often experience much stress. However, little research exists about parenting behavior among these parents. With this study, we aim to address this gap. We examined the structure and internal consistency of a questionnaire intended to measure parenting behavior among mothers of young children with ASD. Furthermore, we compared parenting behavior among mothers of young children with and without ASD between two and six years old. Factor analyses resulted in a factor solution with seven subscales of parenting behavior. Two additional subscales especially relevant for parenting preschoolers with ASD were also considered. Analyses of covariance, controlling for gender and age, showed significantly higher scores for Discipline and Stimulating the Development in the control group in comparison with the ASD group. These findings suggest that mothers of preschoolers with ASD are still trying to find strategies to guide and stimulate their childs behavior and development effectively.