Haussler, A., and Kurtz-Costes, B. (1998). Child care for preschoolers with autism: An exploration of mothers' beliefs, decision-making, and knowledge. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 13, 485-499.
- most people believe that children with autism need specialized early intervention
- child with autism - chronic stressor
- may be in more need of child care - professional or respite
- might facilitate employment for the mother
- little is known about how parents choose child care - referred to as silent partners
- personality
- family functioning
- factors that influence decision-making
- especially true for child care for children with special needs/disabilities
- parents are the ones who are important for choosing a child care setting
- we know nothing about
- search
- values
- selection process
- program knowledge
- research questions
- what type of child care was chosen?
- how were facilities located and selected?
- why were facilites chosen?
- how informed were mothers?
- did what mothers know correspond to what their values were?
- parental participation?
- participants - mothers whose children with autism attended childcare outside of the home
- enrolled for at least 6 weeks
- recruited through TEACCH
- 67% agreed to participate - 40 mothers
- 36 white, 4 African American
- 7 single parent
- 22 employed
- children 37-75 months
- dx information based upon report
- in childcare for 9-48 hours per week and in program from 1.5-36 months
- prcedure - 45 minute phone interview
- structured interview
- search process - how did they hear about the facilities? how many were visited? length of visit? use of a checklist? was the site chosen the first choice?
- features considered important
- 23 features - taken from what parents of typical children are reported to say are important
- some were added after pilot work
- participants could add to the list
- asked which criteria played a role in the selection of a facility
- asked their knowledge of care setting re: health and safety issues
- rated on a 3-point scale
- safety, daily activities, discipline, and specific questions about time-out
- how much time children spent in each of the activities
- what types of parental involvement?
- results
- types of programs
- 32 different programs (19 specific to autism)
- 45% in inclusive settings
- 65% knew licensing status
- 10% knew that the facility was not licensed
- group size 5-25
- 75% mothers reported that caregiver had a college degree
- 27.5% masters
- 25% certified
- half stated that they were unsure of the answers
- search process
- most used professional referral
- 1/4 from a friend
- 61.5% visited the facility before enrolling
- 7 visited one facility
- 5 visited 2 facilities
- 5 - 4
- 1 -6
- 2- 8
- mean duration of a visit was 78 minutes (SD high b/c of one mother who spent two days visiting)
- median was 45 minutes
- 17.5% used a checklist during their visit
- 90% first choice facility
- few programs available
- might not have been a choice
- 50% waited 3 weeks to 39 months
- beliefs about important characteristics
- safe
- warm loving caregivers
- social and communication skills
- clean and well-kept
- child centered curriculum
- trained in child development
- licensed
- good relationship with parent
- special services
- adaptive skills
- parent visit
- structured
- invlusive
- meals and snacks
- involvement encouraged
- same values as parent
- not as important
- convenience
- flexible pick-ip
- low cost
- racial diversity
- relisious
- prepared children for school
- female caregiver
- selection reason
- availability of special services
- well-trained staff
- warm and loving caregivers
- program philosophy
- "correlated" with selection criteria
- knowledge of program features
- some answers were more easily answered than others
- some features were not seen as important
- quite sure about
- pick-up list
- seatbelts
- fenced in yards
- not as sure about
- CPR and first aid
- TB and AIDS testing
- emergency numbers
- fire drills
- beleifs and program knowledge
- licensed
- normal peers
- small group
- special services
- mothers' involvements
- were mostly highly involved
- observed
- participated in field trips
- exchanged journals
- made donations
- fundraising
- many did things repeatedly
- Discussion
- 25% attended autism programs
- 50% were in mainstreamed settings
- 30% in small groups - more preferable
- limited options
- high involvement
- beliefs and selection reasons
- very clear on what the program should have
- safe
- warm
- competent
- clean
- licensed
- social and communication skills
- small size
- structured program
- having a good caregiver relationship
- same reasons they selected the program
- financial and program constraints probably higher
- 62% reported the availability of special services to be very important
- number of alternatives were not specifically addressed
- affordability not examined
- typically developing peers important, but for many this characteristic was absent
- search behavior
- many placed without visiting
- many did not compare settings
- few used a checklist
- referrals might have been used to infer quality?
- knowledge and involvement
- most felt able to answer the questions but were a little unsure
- some guessed
- some assumed since the facility was licensed
- does not relate to beliefs and values
- maybe safety means something different to parents of kids with autism?
- Conclusions and implications for further research
- need much more data
- replication
- analysis of the selection process in vivo instead of retrospectively
- how decisions are made could help with programming and assistance
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