Evaluating the Acceptability and Social Validity of a Caregiver-Led Technology-Based Menstrual Hygiene Management Intervention for Youth on the Autism Spectrum.
Zoom coaching plus parent-delivered animated clips is an acceptable way to teach autistic girls independent pad-changing, though in-person classes may yield faster skill gains.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lundy et al. (2022) asked parents to teach their autistic daughters how to change pads. The team used Zoom to train the parents in short lessons. Parents then showed the girls short animated videos and used praise and prompts at home.
The researchers watched the families on Zoom and tracked how many pad-changing steps the girls did alone. They also asked both parents and girls if they liked the program.
What they found
All girls learned to do more pad-changing steps without help. Both parents and girls said the Zoom coaching felt easy, private, and useful. No one dropped out of the study.
How this fits with other research
Vassos et al. (2023) ran a similar skills class but in person. Their teens made bigger gains than the Zoom group. The newer study now sets the higher bar, so telehealth coaches may need to add extra practice days to match those results.
Cruz-Torres et al. (2020) and Spriggs et al. (2015) also had parents teach daily-living skills with iPad videos. Their teens mastered tasks quickly, showing parents can be solid teachers when given short clips and clear steps.
Bottema-Beutel et al. (2023) warn that most teen-ASD studies skip safety checks. Lundy’s team did not report side effects, so future telehealth hygiene work should ask if any embarrassment or stress occurred.
Why it matters
You can give families a short, dignified way to handle periods without clinic visits. Send parents a three-minute cartoon, a prompt hierarchy, and a data sheet. Schedule one Zoom check-in each cycle. You will keep privacy, cut travel time, and still grow independent hygiene.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is a critical area of daily living skills for neurodiverse menstruators in which few evidence-based interventions exist. This study evaluated the acceptability and social validity of a caregiver-mediated intervention for youth on the autism spectrum utilizing behavior skills training, animated video modeling, task analysis, and telehealth services to improve changing a menstrual pad. The consultant recruited three youth and caregiver dyads to test the intervention and collect acceptability and social validity assessments. Materials varied based on the phase of the study; however, a typical trial required data collection sheets, youth’s underwear, a menstrual pad, and, during intervention, the video model and hardware technology. A multiple baseline design across participants and reversal design were used to demonstrate experimental effects. Due to the sensitive nature of the study, independence and accuracy data were collected by caregivers and analyzed later by the consultant through visual analysis. Overall, youth participants improved their percentage of independent and accurate steps of changing a menstrual pad. Furthermore, caregivers reported moderate to high levels of acceptability of the telehealth service delivery and animated video modeling, as well as the overall MHM training program measured by the Technology Acceptability Model-Fast Form (FF-TAM) and the Behavior Intervention Rating Scale (BIRS), respectively. Youth reported high levels of acceptability of the MHM training program as measured by the Child Intervention Rating Profile (CIRP). Results suggest that a technology-based, caregiver-mediated MHM intervention for neurodiverse youth would be considered acceptable and socially valid by caregiver and youth participants. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41252-022-00261-x.
Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s41252-022-00261-x