A Parent-Mediated Telehealth Program for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Promoting Parents' Ability to Stimulate the Children's Learning, Reduce Parenting Stress, and Boost Their Sense of Parenting Empowerment

This study investigates the effectiveness of a 6-month parent-mediated early intervention telehealth program for children with an autism spectrum disorder. The participants comprised a total of 27 parents. The findings showed that participation in the program promotes parents' empowerment and reduce parental stress and a general improvement in the parents' ability to stimulate children's learning. Moreover, the study reveals an effect of parents' age in mediating the relationship among the parents' ability, stress, and empowerment levels. These results suggest that an early intervention telehealth program may help parents become aware of how to benefit from interactions with their children, promote their empowerment, and reduce parenting stress.