Framing the work: A coparenting model for guiding infant mental health engagement with families.

When working with families of infants and toddlers, intentionally looking beyond dyadic child-parent relationship functioning to conceptualize the child's socioemotional adaptation within their broader family collective can enhance the likelihood that clinical gains will be supported and sustained. However, there has been little expert guidance regarding how best to frame infant-family mental health therapeutic encounters for the adults responsible for the child's care and upbringing in a manner that elevates their mindfulness about and their resolve to strengthen the impact of their coparenting collective. This article describes a new collaborative initiative organized by family-oriented infant mental health professionals across several different countries, all of whom bring expansive expertise assessing and working with coparenting and triangular family dynamics. The Collaborative's aims are to identify a means for framing initial infant mental health encounters and intakes with families with the goal of assessing and raising family consciousness about the relevance of coparenting. Initial points of convergence and growing points identified by the Collaborative for subsequent field study are addressed.

Cuando se trabaja con familias de infantes y niños pequeñitos, el mirar intencionalmente más allá del funcionamiento de la relación diádica niño-progenitor para conceptualizar la adaptación socioemocional del niño dentro de la amplitud del colectivo familiar puede mejorar la posibilidad de que los logros clínicos sean apoyados y mantenidos. Sin embargo, ha habido poca guía de expertos acerca de cómo enmarcar mejor los encuentros terapéuticos infante-familia de salud mental para los adultos que son responsables del cuidado y crianza del niño de una manera que se eleve su estado consciente acerca de y su determinación de reforzar el impacto del colectivo en el proceso de la crianza compartida. Este artículo describe una nueva iniciativa colaborativa organizada por profesionales de la salud mental infantil orientados hacia la familia en varios diferentes países, todos los cuales aportan su conocimiento amplio evaluando y trabajando con las dinámicas familiares de crianza compartida y triangular. Las metas de este esfuerzo Colaborativo son identificar un medio para enmarcar los encuentros y la proporción de salud mental infantil con familias que se proponen evaluar y crear consciencia familiar acerca de la relevancia de la crianza compartida. Se abordan los puntos iniciales de convergencia y puntos de crecimiento identificados por el esfuerzo Colaborativo para subsecuentes estudios en el campo.

En travaillant avec des familles de nourrissons et de petits enfants, le fait de regarder délibérément au- delà du fonctionnement de la relation dyadique enfant-parent afin de conceptualisation l'adaptation socio émotionnelle de l'enfant, au sein de leur collectif familial plus large, peut accroître la probabilité que les gains cliniques seront bien soutenus et prolongés. Cependant il y a eu peu de directive experte concernant la meilleure manière d'encadrer les rencontres thérapeutiques nourrisson-famille de santé mentale pour les adultes responsables du soin de l'enfant et de son éducation d'une manière qui élève la pleine conscience et la détermination qu'il y a à renforcer l'impact de leur coparentage collectif. Cet article décrit une nouvelle initiative collaborative organisée par des professionnels de la santé mentale du nourrisson centrés sur la famille au travers de plus pays différents, tous étant de grands experts évaluant et travaillant avec des dynamiques de coparentage et de famille triangulaire. Les buts de cette collaboration sont d'identifier un moyen d'encadrer des rencontres de santé mentale initiales et les apports des familles avec le but d'évaluer et d'améliorer la conscience de la famille quant à la pertinence du coparentage. Les premiers points de convergence et de développement identifiés par la collaboration pour des études sur le terrain à venir sont discutés.

Sex differences in friendships and loneliness in autistic and non-autistic children across development.

BACKGROUND: Autistic children have been shown to have less complete definitions of friendships and higher levels of loneliness than their non-autistic peers. However, no known studies have explored sex differences in autistic children's understanding of friendships and reported loneliness across development. Autistic girls demonstrate higher levels of social motivation than autistic boys and appear to "fit in" with their peers, but they often have difficulty recognizing reciprocal friendships during middle childhood. As autistic girls develop a more complex understanding of friendship during adolescence, they may begin to redefine their friendships and experience heightened loneliness. Here, we explored how autistic and non-autistic boys and girls define the meaning of friendship and report feelings of loneliness across development. We also examined their perceptions of friendships and loneliness. METHODS: This mixed-methods study analyzed the transcribed clinical evaluations of 58 autistic children (29 girls) matched to 42 non-autistic children (21 girls) on age and IQ. Transcripts were coded for four categories that children used to define friendships-personality, companionship, dependability, and intimacy-and for reported loneliness. We then compared these codes across diagnosis, sex, and age. Content analyses were further implemented to gain a more holistic understanding of children's perceptions of friendships and loneliness. RESULTS: Girls, regardless of diagnosis, were more likely than boys to refer to personality when defining the meaning of friendship, and the likelihood of referring to dependability and intimacy increased with age. Most children reported having at least one friend, though some autistic adolescents reported not having friends or were uncertain whether they had friends. While autistic and non-autistic boys and girls were equally likely to report feeling lonely at times, several autistic girls and boys reported being frequently lonely. LIMITATIONS: This study was a secondary data analysis. The standardized set of questions on the ADOS limited the amount of information that children provided about their friendships and perceptions of loneliness. CONCLUSION: As with non-autistic children, autistic children acquire a more complex understanding of friendship throughout development. However, as children begin to prioritize dependability and intimacy in friendships, autistic adolescents may have difficulty developing friendships characterized by these constructs. Furthermore, the quantity and/or quality of autistic children's friendships may not be sufficient to alleviate loneliness.

Personal victimization experiences of autistic and non-autistic children.

BACKGROUND: Autistic children report higher levels of bullying victimization than their non-autistic peers. However, autistic children with fewer social difficulties, as measured on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), are more likely to report being bullied. Autistic children with stronger social skills may not only be more likely to identify and report incidents of bullying, but they may also be more likely to interact with their non-autistic peers, increasing their likelihood of being victimized. Autistic girls may be especially at-risk of experiencing bullying victimization, as a growing body of research suggests that autistic girls demonstrate fewer social difficulties and are more socially motivated than autistic boys. Here, we explored reported problems with peers and bullying victimization among a carefully matched sample of autistic and non-autistic boys and girls. Qualitative methods were further implemented to gain a more holistic understanding of the social experiences of autistic boys and girls. METHODS: This mixed-methods study analyzed the transcribed clinical evaluations of 58 autistic children (29 girls) matched to 42 non-autistic children (21 girls) on age and IQ. Within each diagnostic group, boys and girls were matched on ADOS severity score. We compared reported problems with peers and bullying victimization across sex and diagnosis. Among autistic children, we further examined whether ADOS social affect (SA), restricted repetitive behaviors, and severity scores predicted problems with peers and bullying victimization. We then identified themes related to personal experiences of victimization. RESULTS: Autistic children were more likely than non-autistic children to have experienced bullying victimization, and autistic children with lower ADOS severity and SA scores were more likely to report having been bullied. While autistic boys and girls reported similar levels of bullying victimization, qualitative analyses revealed sex differences in the underlying causes of peer conflict. LIMITATIONS: This study was a secondary data analysis. The standardized set of questions on the ADOS limited the amount of information that children provided about their peer relationships, and variations in follow-up questions may have influenced children's responses. CONCLUSIONS: Although autism symptomatology places autistic children at greater risk for bullying victimization compared to their non-autistic peers, greater social challenges among autistic children are associated with lower rates of victimization. This study further highlights the importance of using mixed-methods approaches to discover nuances in the social experiences of autistic girls and boys that may become opportunities for support.