Quality of Life in Hungarian Parents of Autistic Individuals.

PURPOSE: Parents of autistic individuals have been known to have a lower overall quality of life (QQL) than those of typically developing children. We present the first Hungarian large-sample study whose objective was to explore the differences in QOL between parents of autistic individuals (AS) and those of neurotypical (NT) persons. METHODS: Based on the ABCX model we developed a questionnaire comprising standardized scales to characterize the life of parents involved. Our data came from parents of 842 individuals (ASD = 521, NT = 321) between 0 and 49 years. Battery deployed standardized instruments to examine quality of life (WHO-QQL BREF and Quality of Life in Autism questionnaire, QOLA). We assessed the families' socio-economic/demographic characteristics, parents' psychological well-being, the autistic/neurotypical individuals' characteristics, and the interventions. RESULTS: Our data showed significantly lower QOL in parents of autistic individuals in all domains of questionnaires. We analyzed 20 relevant factors to uncover the predictors of parental QOL. We confirmed the existence of most but not all predictors present in earlier literature and identified intervention-related predictors. CONCLUSION: Our study confirms the importance of supporting parents in their role, and of providing health and social supports that focus on quality of life, in addition to child care.

Interventions for acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disability: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities is limited due to a high prevalence of prejudice towards this population. We reviewed studies to identify the most effective intervention methods that focus on acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities. METHOD: A literature review was conducted using several databases-EBSCO, Web of Science, Google Scholar. The search resulted in 6728 articles, of which 26 met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Studies were largely consistent in reporting positive changes after interventions. Although there is no obvious pattern to determine the efficacy of an, long interventions or those involving direct contact may have the most beneficial effects on the relationships between people with and those without intellectual disabilities. CONCLUSION: The evidence suggests that several types of interventions impact the knowledge, change in the attitudes, behaviour and self-related constructs that lead to the acceptance of people with intellectual disability.