Problem-solving skills training for mothers of children recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot feasibility study.
Eight brief group lessons in problem solving quickly lower distress for moms facing a new autism diagnosis.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Allen et al. (2016) ran eight one-hour group classes for moms whose kids had just learned they have autism.
The classes taught step-by-step problem solving: spot the problem, list fixes, pick one, try it, check results.
Mothers filled out mood and skill surveys before the first class and after the last one.
What they found
Moms left the course calmer and better planners.
They scored lower on negative mood and higher on problem-solving steps.
Most moms finished the eight weeks, so staff say the plan is doable.
How this fits with other research
Samadi et al. (2013) did a seven-week parent course in Iran and saw the same stress drop, showing the idea travels across cultures.
Van Hanegem et al. (2014) taught the same problem-solving steps to autistic college students and also found less distress, proving the tool helps both parents and the youth themselves.
Dai et al. (2025) later topped this pilot with a stronger RCT that mixed hospital and home DTT; they cut parent stress even more and added big child gains, so their design now sets the gold standard.
Why it matters
You can run these eight short lessons while families wait for full ABA.
One calm, confident parent speeds up every later program you write.
Try adding the same five-step worksheet to your next caregiver orientation and track mood before and after.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Problem-solving skills training is an intervention designed to teach coping skills that has shown to decrease negative affectivity (depressive symptoms, negative mood, and post-traumatic stress symptoms) in mothers of children with cancer. The objective of this study was to see whether mothers of children recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder would be receptive to receiving problem-solving skills training (feasibility trial). Participants were recruited from a local outpatient developmental clinic that is part of a university department of pediatrics. Participants were to receive eight 1-h sessions of problem-solving skills training and were asked to complete assessments prior to beginning problem-solving skills training (T1), immediately after intervention (T2), and 3 months after T2 (T3). Outcome measures assessed problem-solving skills and negative affectivity (i.e. distress). In total, 30 mothers were approached and 24 agreed to participate (80.0%). Of them, 17 mothers completed problem-solving skills training (retention rate: 70.8%). Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder who completed problem-solving skills training had significant decreases in negative affectivity and increases in problem-solving skills. A comparison to mothers of children with cancer shows that mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder displayed similar levels of depressive symptoms but less negative mood and fewer symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Data suggest that problem-solving skills training may be an effective way to alleviate distress in mothers of children recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Data also suggest that mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder were moderately receptive to receiving problem-solving skills training. Implications are that problem-solving skills training may be beneficial to parents of children with autism spectrum disorder; modifications to improve retention rates are suggested.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2016 · doi:10.1177/1362361314567134