Effectiveness of a Structured Parent Training Program in Improving Adaptive Behavior (Daily Living Skills, Communication, and Socialization) among Children with Developmental Disabilities in Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-vi.303Keywords:
Adaptive Behavior, Developmental Disabilities, InterventionsAbstract
Adaptive behavior of children with developmental disabilities often suffers due to problems in areas such as communication, living skills, and socialization, reducing their ability to be independent and improving the quality of life. It has been found that parent-mediated approaches are quite effective in helping children through functional outcomes because they empower parents with evidence-based strategies. This study attempts to investigate the impact of the Structured Parent Training Program on adaptive behaviors of children with developmental disabilities in Pakistan. A quantitative pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest research design was utilized. Through purposive sampling, 30 parents of children aged between 3 and 12 years diagnosed with developmental disabilities were selected from rehabilitation centers. Adaptive behavior was measured through Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition (Vineland-3) prior to and after an 8-week Structured Parent Training Program. Data analysis was conducted through descriptive statistics and paired-samples t-tests. Results show significant improvement in communication, living skills, socialization, and adaptive behavior as a whole after intervention (p < .001). It can be concluded that structured parent training is an effective family-centered intervention for adaptive behavior of children with developmental disabilities.
References
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). American Psychiatric Association.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall. https://www.asecib.ase.ro/mps/Bandura_SocialLearningTheory.pdf
Boyle, C. A., Fox, M. H., Havercamp, S. M., & Zubler, J. (2020). The public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic for people with disabilities. Disability and Health Journal, 13(3), 100943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.100943
Black, M. M., Walker, S. P., Fernald, L. C. H., Andersen, C. T., DiGirolamo, A. M., Lu, C., McCoy, D. C., Fink, G., Shawar, Y. R., Shiffman, J., Devercelli, A. E., Wodon, Q. T., Vargas-Baron, E., & Grantham-McGregor, S. (2017). Early childhood development coming of age: Science through the life course. The Lancet, 389(10064), 77–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31389-7
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, February 9). Developmental disabilities. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CDC: Developmental Disabilities
Deb, S., Retzer, A., Roy, M., Acharya, R., Limbu, B., & Roy, A. (2020). The effectiveness of parent training for children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analyses. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02973-7
Finn, L. L. (2020). Improving interactions between parents, teachers, and staff and individuals with developmental disabilities: A review of caregiver training methods and results. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 66(5), 390-402. https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2020.1830460
Hamdani, S. U., Huma, Z., Suleman, N., Akhtar, P., Nazir, H., Masood, A., Tariq, M., Koukab, A., Salomone, E., Pacione, L., Brown, F., Shire, S., Sikander, S., Servili, C., Wang, D., Minhas, F. A., & Rahman, A. (2021). Effectiveness of a technology-assisted, family volunteers delivered, brief, multicomponent parents’ skills training intervention for children with developmental disorders in rural Pakistan: A cluster randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-021-00476-w
Koly, K. N., Martin-Herz, S. P., Islam, M. S., Sharmin, N., Blencowe, H., & Naheed, A. (2021). Parent-mediated intervention programmes for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders in South Asia: A systematic review. PLOS ONE, 16(3), e0247432. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247432
McIntyre, L. L. (2008). Parent training for young children with developmental disabilities: Randomized controlled trial. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 113(5), 356–368. https://doi.org/10.1352/2008.113:356-368
McIntyre, L. L. (2008). Adapting Webster-Stratton’s Incredible Years parent training for children with developmental delay: Findings from a treatment group only study. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 52(12), 1176–1192. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2788.2008.01108.
Price, J., Morris, Z., & Costello, S. (2018). The application of adaptive behaviour models: A systematic review. Behavioral Sciences, 8(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs8010011
Ragni, B., Boldrini, F., Mangialavori, S., Cacioppo, M., Capurso, M., & De Stasio, S. (2022). The efficacy of parent training interventions with parents of children with developmental disabilities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9685. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159685
Schalock, R. L., Luckasson, R., & Tasse, M. J. (2021). Intellectual disability: Definition, diagnosis, classification, and systems of supports (12th ed.). American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Sparrow, S. S., Cicchetti, D. V., & Saulnier, C. A. (2016). Vineland-3: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (3rd ed.). Pearson.
Sun, X. (2020). Behavior skills training for family caregivers of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities: A systematic review of literature. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 68(3), 247-273. https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2020.1793650
Tassé, M. J., Schalock, R. L., Balboni, G., Bersani, H., Borthwick-Duffy, S. A., Spreat, S., Thissen, D., Widaman, K. F., & Zhang, D. (2012). The construct of adaptive behavior: Its conceptualization, measurement, and use in the Field of intellectual disability. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 117(4), 291-303. https://doi.org/10.1352/1944-7558-117.4.291
World Health Organization. (2022). Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities. World Health Organization.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Kainat Saifullah, Nazia Qayyum, Shama Bibi, Bushra Zahra, Hira Saifullah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
