title: Developing the "Skippu-Mama" program for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: The "Skippu-Mama" peer support program was developed to improve quality of life and reduce parental stress in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders. The program was designed to improve these variables by refreshing and healing participants' minds and bodies. Twenty-four mothers of 26 children diagnosed with ASD in Japan were included in the study and completed measures of quality of life and parental stress before, during, and after participation in the Skippu-Mama program. Our results demonstrated that time was a significant main effect. Further, multiple comparisons with Bonferroni corrections indicated a significant increase in World Health Organization Quality of Life 26 scores three months into the program and at its conclusion six months after commencement. Overall, the Skippu-Mama program improved the quality of life of mothers of children with ASD, and we believe that the intervention's focus on both individual and family variables may be especially effective in this population.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuteru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Niinomi
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Midori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Nagoya City University, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kadoma
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Department of Nursing, Nihon Fukushi University, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukimi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohashi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Department of Nursing, Nihon Fukushi University, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Ayako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Furuzawa
authors.affiliation: Gifu College of Nursing, Gifu, Japan.
authors.forename: Mami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Kodomo Clinic Papa, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamakita
authors.affiliation: Nagoya Medical Center, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mori
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000639:trends*; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology
keywords: autism spectrum disorders; mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder; parenting stress; peer support; program to complement parental training; quality of life