Mindfulness training effects for parents and educators of children with special needs.

Abstract

Parents and teachers of children with special needs face unique social-emotional challenges in carrying out their caregiving roles. Stress associated with these roles impacts parents' and special educators' health and well-being, as well as the quality of their parenting and teaching. No rigorous studies have assessed whether mindfulness training (MT) might be an effective strategy to reduce stress and cultivate well-being and positive caregiving in these adults. This randomized controlled study assessed the efficacy of a 5-week MT program for parents and educators of children with special needs. Participants receiving MT showed significant reductions in stress and anxiety and increased mindfulness, self-compassion, and personal growth at program completion and at 2 months follow-up in contrast to waiting-list controls. Relational competence also showed significant positive changes, with medium-to-large effect sizes noted on measures of empathic concern and forgiveness. MT significantly influenced caregiving competence specific to teaching. Mindfulness changes at program completion mediated outcomes at follow-up, suggesting its importance in maintaining emotional balance and facilitating well-being in parents and teachers of children with developmental challenges.

Interventions that target improvements in mental health for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders: A narrative review

“…These included cognitive behavioral therapy (Feinberg et al, 2014;Kenney, 2010), expressive writing (Campbell, 2003;Whitney & Smith, 2014), mindfulness training (Benn, Akiva, Arel, & Roeser, 2012;Ferraioli & Harris, 2013), positive psychology strategies (LaPlante, 2013), and relaxation therapy (Gika et al, 2012). One study utilized a two-arm intervention design comparing the effects of two separate therapies (mindfulness training versus positive psychology) (Dykens, Fisher, Taylor, Lambert, & Miodrag, 2014).…”

“…The second most utilized location was the family home or a location of the parents' choosing (Campbell, 2003;Feinberg et al, 2014;Gika et al, 2012). Other intervention locations included ASD school sites (Benn et al, 2012;Bitsika & Sharpley, 2000), an ASD treatment center (Blackledge & Hayes, 2006), and convenient community locations (Dykens et al, 2014). LaPlante (2013) and Whitney and Smith (2014) were the only studies conducted online.…”

“…Typically, intervention sessions met once per week with the exception of Benn et al (2012), which held sessions twice per week. Most weekly interventions lasted six (Dykens et al, 2014;Feinberg et al, 2014;Gika et al, 2012) to eight weeks (Bitsika & Sharpley, 2000;Ferraioli & Harris, 2013;Kowalkowski, 2013;Whitney & Smith, 2014), but ranged from five (Benn et al, 2012;Kenney, 2010) to nine weeks (Peck, 1998) in duration.…”

“…Three types of control groups were implemented, (a) care as usual, (b) wait-list controls, and (c) active controls. Whereas only three studies used either a wait-list control or care as usual (Benn et al, 2012;Feinberg et al, 2014;Whitney & Smith, 2014), the remaining studies used a comparison intervention (active control). For example, Ferraioli and Harris (2013) compared differences between a parent-focused intervention, Mindfulness-Based Parent Training (MBPT), and traditional child-focused training, SkillsBased Parent Training.…”

“…Seven of the 13 studies conducted follow-up assessments within two to three months after the completion of the intervention (Benn et al, 2012;Blackledge & Hayes, 2006;Campbell, 2003;Dykens et al, 2014;Feinberg et al, 2014;Ferraioli & Harris, 2013;and Kowalkowski, 2013). Dykens et al (2014) was the only reviewed study that assessed outcomes at six months (in addition to two months) following the intervention.…”