Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

According to Solomon & Chung (2012) there has been a dramatic increase of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the past 20 years. Autism can change a family's way of life because it can affect how a child interacts with others socially and learns (Solomon & Chung, 2012). Much research has been completed on autism, including how family therapists can help support parents of children with autism. Autism can take it's toll on parents, causing higher levels of stress, lower adaptability and cohesion, and lower marital happiness than families of children with developmental disabilities and lower functioning children (Solomon & Chung, 2012).
The same research by Solomon and Chung (2012) has also found that having a child with autism can strengthen a family's bond. Family therapists who have a basic understanding of autism and who stay current on new research are well-apt to helping parents of children with autism (Solomon & Chung, 2012). The family therapist can assist in advocacy work such as attending IEP meetings for the child, consulting with other providers and "helping parents find access resources such as support groups in the area (Solomon & Chung, 2012)."

There has also been research on how gestures can help infants with and without autism communicate by Watson, Craig, Baranek, Dykstra & Wilson (2013). Through their research, they have discovered  practices that have the potential to inform early screening, assessment, and intervention practices for infants at risk for autism (Watson, Crais, Baranek, Dykstra & Wilson, 2013). The have found a contrast between infants with autism and those with developmental disabilities and typical development in who will using joint attention gestures during the first and second year of life. Joint attention gestures involve directing another person’s attention to an event, object, or person solely to share interest and are “triadic” in the coordination of the gaze of communicative partners toward something else (Watson, Craig, Baranek, Dykstra, & Wilson, 2013). The authors of this study gave an example of joint attention gestures as a child pointing to draw another person’s attention to an airplane in the sky or holding up a toy to share interest with another person (Watson, Craig, Baranek, Dykstra, & Wilson, 2013). Their studies confirm that when a child lacks these necessary social–communication skills, it can be an early and defining sign of autism (Watson, Crais, Baranek, Dykstra & Wilson, 2013).

So to conclude, research in the area of autism in young children have helped discover early screenings, assessments and interventions for children with autism to help them develop the necessary social skills to help live a successful adulthood as well as help the parents of children with autism find support and assistance in advocacy for their child and their family life. Research has many benefits in early childhood, and these were just a few that caught my attention. I look forward to reading everyone else's blogs and seeing what they see as a benefit of research in the early childhood field. 

References

Solomon, A. H., & Chung, B. (2012). Understanding Autism: How Family Therapists Can Support Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Family Process, 51(2), 250-264. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2012.01399.x

Watson, L. R., Crais, E. R., Baranek, G. T., Dykstra, J. R., & Wilson, K. P. (2013). Communicative Gesture Use in Infants With and Without Autism: A Retrospective Home Video Study. American Journal Of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(1), 25-39. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2012/11-0145)