The Construction of “Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder” through Therapeutic Education:

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  • 「自閉症児の親」の構成
  • 「自閉症児の親」の構成 : 療育の准専門家になることをめぐって
  • 「 ジヘイショウジ ノ オヤ 」 ノ コウセイ : リョウイク ノ ジュンセンモンカ ニ ナル コト オ メグッテ
  • Parents as Para-professionals
  • ──療育の准専門家になることをめぐって──

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Abstract

<p>The purpose of this paper is to describe the way in which a “parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder” is socially constructed as a “subject who intervenes” through therapeutic education, based on surveys of parents and their children who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of three. Intervention is a device that channels the way of life of “children with disabilities and their parents” under the concept of “early detection and early intervention.”<br><br>First, the child's daily routine from the ages of 4 to 9 is analyzed through reports on home life. The function of therapeutic education in the socialization of the parent as a “parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder” is then examined. As a result, it becomes apparent that the comments of the therapist in daily reports on home life served as socialization. At the beginning of the intervention, the relationship between the therapist and the parent was strongly influenced by awareness and acceptance. In this context, the comments from the therapists can be seen as positioning the parent as an “object of intervention,” while at the same time socializing him or her into the “subject of intervention” in the home. However, afterwards, the parent is equipped with the characteristics of a “para-professional.” A “para-professional” is a parent who speaks of disability in technical terms, while grasping and valuing the world around him or her in the same framework of understanding as a professional.<br><br>Following this, the role of the parent who expects intervention is explored through interviews with the grown child. It was found that the child whose disability was attributed to “inability” in early childhood was then viewed as a “problem-free student” later in primary and secondary school. However, parents tend to maintain the perception that their child has a “disability.” On the one hand, the child doubts that he or she has a disability and claims that intervention is distressing. This is an indication of the possibility of escaping the parental framework of understanding. On the other hand, as parents reinforce the therapeutic orientation at home, the child's self-understanding is made secure through the parentsʼ interpretation.<br><br>Based on the above, the concept of the “small therapist” will be presented to refer to the parentʼs role as the “subject of intervention” when supervising the child to overcome his or her disabilities, and to ensure that intervention is carried out thoroughly at home.</p>

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