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A Brief Report: Community Supportiveness May Facilitate Participation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Their Community and Reduce Feelings of Isolation in Their Caregivers
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posted on 2020-11-10, 00:00 authored by Bethany Devenish, Carmel Sivaratnam, Ebony Lindor, Nicole Papadopoulos, Rujuta Wilson, Jane McGillivrayJane McGillivray, Nicole RinehartChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) participate at lower rates in their community, and their caregivers experience higher levels of stress, in comparison to families of typically developing (TD) children. The social model of disability positions the environment as the central issue when children with disabilities are unable to participate, yet little is known about the relationship between poor community support, reduced community participation in children with ASD, and caregiver stress. This study examined caregiver perceptions of community supportiveness for the community participation of 48 children with ASD (aged 5–12 years), alongside caregiver-reported child ASD symptom severity, adaptive functioning, and caregiver stress. Community supportiveness predicted child involvement, but not attendance, when child characteristics were held constant. Caregiver perceptions of low community supportiveness significantly predicted caregiver feelings of isolation. The importance of modifying community programs to better support inclusion of children with ASD is discussed.
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Journal
Frontiers in PsychologyVolume
11Article number
583483Publisher
Frontiers MediaLocation
Lausanne, SwitzerlandPublisher DOI
Link to full text
ISSN
1664-1078eISSN
1664-1078Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2020, Devenish, Sivaratnam, Lindor, Papadopoulos, Wilson, McGillivray and RinehartUsage metrics
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