Implementation of the Parents Taking Action With Caregivers of Young Autistic Children in Paraguay

The adapted intervention, Parents Taking Action, will consist of 10 weekly online group sessions among family caregivers, the researcher, and 2 Paraguayan trained parents of autistic individuals (Promotoras). The weekly remote sessions will be conducted on a video-chat platform, in Spanish (See Appendix A for curriculum outline).

The promotoras who deliver the sessions will be Paraguayan and will offer the sessions in Spanish. Promotoras will receive 10 hours of training on content and procedures prior to the beginning of the intervention.

Piloting the Intervention The Pilot will consist of a one group pre and post-test design with no control group.

Sample and Recruitment. Twenty family caregivers in Paraguay will be recruited for this pilot study. Primary caregivers are the ones who do most of the care and parenting of the child. Family caregivers will be recruited and will be eligible if (1) they live in Paraguay, (2) are the primary caregivers of a child with autism who is 0-8 years old, and (3) are18 years old or older. All recruitment materials will be in Spanish. Families who express interest in participation will be contacted by a trained research assistant to complete consent forms and to schedule the baseline assessment. After a cohort of 10 to 20 families have been recruited, the pilot intervention will be scheduled.

Data Source/Data Collection. Parents/ family caregivers will complete objective and self-report assessments at baseline and post-intervention follow-up through telephone or videochat interviews with trained students. One interview will be conducted at baseline and one at follow-up to collect the full battery of measures. See Appendix B for a list of the measures. Participants will not receive any compensation to participate in the study. After completing the intervention, family caregivers will be invited to attend an additional individual interview in which we will seek feedback on the social validity of the content and delivery of the intervention. Interviews will be held in Spanish.