L’objectif de cette étude est d’évaluer les bénéfices de la participation à un groupe d’accompagnement parental sur le plan de la qualité de vie et du stress, chez des parents dont les enfants ont reçu récemment un diagnostic de TSA.

Le programme comporte cinq séances d’une journée. Treize familles (18 parents au total) d’enfants âgés de moins de six ans y participent. Une évaluation avant et après le programme est effectuée à l’aide d’une échelle de qualité de vie (Par-DD-QoL) et de stress parental (PSI).

Il est noté une diminution significative du score de stress parental à la fin du programme. Le score émotionnel de l’échelle de qualité de vie tend également à diminuer, alors que le score de vie quotidienne reste stable. La diminution du stress parental apparaît plus marquée chez les parents qui ont deux enfants que chez ceux n’ayant qu’un seul enfant.

Ces résultats suggèrent l’intérêt des programmes visant à accompagner les parents dans les suites immédiates de l’annonce du diagnostic de TSA et leur possible impact sur le stress parental.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a major impact on families’ quality of life, and parents report a lack of information and support after the diagnosis. The goal of the present study is to assess the benefits of a program aiming to support parents whose child was recently diagnosed as autistic and to give them a better understanding of the disorder. The evolution of the Quality of Life and parental stress scores before and after the psychoeducational program is studied.

The program contains five monthly sessions of one day each. The sessions are conducted by two professionals from the Autism Resource Center of Languedoc-Roussillon in France. Thirteen families (18 parents) participated in the program. Their children were under six years of age and had received an ASD diagnosis in the passed year. Quality of Life and parental stress are assessed before and after their participation to the group, through the Parental–Developmental Disorder–Quality of Life scale (Par-DD-QoL) and the Parental Stress Index (PSI). The potential role of familial variables (parents’ age and sex, number of siblings) is also studied.

There is a significant decrease in the parental stress score at the end of the program. The emotional score of the Quality of Life scale also tends to decrease, whereas the daily living score remains stable. The decrease of parental stress seems related to the number of siblings in the family, with a more important decrease in parents who have two children at the beginning of the program, as compared to parents who had only one child.

These results emphasize the importance of accompanying parents after an ASD diagnosis, and suggest that such psychoeducational programs might help reducing the stress felt by parents at this time of their life.