EPaS neurodevelopmental
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Adaptation and evaluation of the Enhancing Parenting Skills programme for use in a neurodevelopmental service
IRAS ID
322394
Contact name
Margiad Williams
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bangor University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 9 days
Research summary
It is common for children with neurodevelopmental disorders (ND), such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, to exhibit co-occurring behavioural and emotional problems including temper tantrums, sleep disturbances, noncompliance, and irritability. These behaviour problems tend to persist into adolescence and adulthood and are particularly challenging for families. These families often have complex needs and would benefit from one-to-one support, particularly around the time of diagnosis.
The purpose of this study is to adapt a one-to-one parenting support intervention for families of children with ND and to evaluate the adapted programme with a small number of families. The intervention to be adapted is the Enhancing Parenting Skills (EPaS) programme, a 12-week intervention designed to support parents with their children’s behaviour problems. The programme comprises three phases: assessment, case analysis, and intervention strategies.
Workshops will be conducted with families of children with ND and practitioners from the central ND service (Conwy and Denbighshire) to explore necessary adaptations to the EPaS programme for this population. Two workshops with parents and practitioners will be conducted, one to explore assessment procedures and one for intervention strategies. Feedback from the workshops will then be used to adapt the EPaS programme.
The adapted programme will then be evaluated with a small number of families through the central ND service. Staff in the service, including a trainee Clinical Psychologist and a qualified Clinical Psychologist, will identify up to 5 families to receive the adapted EPaS programme. Outcome measures will be collected by the researcher during home visits before the start of the programme and three months later. The outcomes include measures of child behaviour, parenting skills, parental mental health, direct measures of parent-child interaction as well as demographic information.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NW/0062
Date of REC Opinion
5 Apr 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion