Development And Feasibility of Caregivers Skills Training For Managing Challenging Behaviours In Transitional Age Group Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study aims to develop and test the feasibility of a culturally relevant Caregiver Skills Training (CST) module to help caregivers manage challenging behaviours in transitional age group (14-25 years) persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Using a multi-phasic mixed-methods design, Phase I will involve a scoping review of existing caregiver training programs and challenging behaviours in this population. Phase II will explore caregivers and professionals perspectives through qualitative interviews. Phase III will focus on developing and expert-validating an evidence-based CST manual. Phase IV will assess feasibility through a pilot caregiver training with pre-post evaluation. Secondary outcomes include examining caregiver quality of life, self-efficacy, burden, well-being and perceived usefulness of the CST. Quantitative data will be analysed using descriptive statistics in SPSS, while qualitative data will undergo inductive thematic analysis, supported by ATLAS.ti.