En lien avec les difficultés développementales et comportementales de l’enfant ayant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme (TSA), les parents et les professionnels éprouvent souvent beaucoup de stress. L’objectif de cette recherche est de présenter la validation d’une traduction française de l’Appraisal of Life Events Scale (ALES) de Ferguson, Matthew et Cox, adaptée aux vécus des parents et des professionnels confrontés au TSA. L’ALES a originellement été développée pour opérationnaliser les trois dimensions du stress perçu (menace, perte et défi) décrites par Lazarus et Folkman. Une analyse factorielle exploratoire, réalisée sur les données de 170 parents, a mis en avant deux modèles exploratoires, respectivement à quatre et trois facteurs, légèrement différents du modèle original à trois facteurs de Ferguson et ses collaborateurs. Des analyses confirmatoires ont ensuite été appliquées aux données de 173 autres parents, afin de tester les deux modèles exploratoires et le modèle original. Ce dernier a également été testé auprès de 305 professionnels (éducateurs, accompagnants, psychologues et enseignants), puis sur l’ensemble de l’échantillon (parents et professionnels). Les résultats indiquent une meilleure adéquation du modèle original à trois facteurs. Les coefficients alpha de Cronbach et les corrélations inter-items montrent que la cohérence interne de ces trois facteurs est satisfaisante. Des analyses de la variance et des régressions linéaires ont permis de vérifier les variations de perception du stress en fonction de la nationalité des parents, du degré d’autonomie et de communication de l’enfant et de l’expérience des professionnels.

Autism and related disorders are grouped into the category of « Autism Spectrum Disorder » (ASD) in the DSM-5. This appellation reflects the idea of a dimensional representation of autism that combines symptoms and characteristics that vary in severity and intensity. Despite common characteristics, there are varying degrees in intensity and in the onset of symptoms, ranging from a disability that can be very heavy with a total lack of communication and major disorders associated with the existence of a relative autonomy associated, sometimes, with extraordinary intellectual abilities. Parents are faced with several difficult situations, such as sleep disturbances, agitation, shouting, hetero violence, self-harm, learning difficulties, stereotyping, lack of social and emotional reciprocity, inappropriate behavior, etc. They can feel helpless and may experience stress related to these developmental and behavioral difficulties. The heterogeneity of symptoms, the presence of behavioral problems, the lack of reciprocity and autonomy also represent a challenge for practitioners in institutions and teachers at school. The objective of this research is to present the validation of a French translation of the Appraisal of Life Events Scale (ALES-vf) from Ferguson, Matthex and Cox, specifically adapted to the context of ASD. ALES was originally developed to operationalize the three dimensions of perceived stress (threat, loss and challenge) described by Lazarus and Folkman.

ALES-vf was initially translated into French and adapted to the situation of parents of children with ASD. It was subsequently administered to 343 parents, 150 paramedical professionals involved with people with ASD, and 155 teachers from an ordinary school environment and from specialized schools, welcoming in their classroom at least one child with ASD.

An exploratory factor analysis performed on data from 170 parents highlighted two exploratory models with four and three factors, slightly different from the original three-factor model of Ferguson and his collaborators. Confirmatory analyzes were conducted on data from 173 other parents to test two exploratory models and the original model of Ferguson. It has also been tested on data from 305 professionals (paramedical professionals and teachers) and on the whole sample (parents and professionals). The results suggest a better match of the original three-factor model. In addition, Cronbach's alpha coefficients and inter-item correlations showed a good internal consistency for these three factors. Finally, variance analysis and regressions were performed to test the effect of the nationality of the parents, the child's level of autonomy, the child's level of communication, and on the perceived stress by experienced professionals.

ALES-vf, after our adaptation has good psychometric properties for use not only with parents but also with professionals (teachers, educators, psychologists) working with children with ASD. Our analyses showed that the nationality of the parents does not significantly influence the subscales « threat » and « challenge » of ALES-vf, which makes it usable in other Francophone countries. Specificities in the subscales were identified based on group membership (parents and professionals). For example parents get higher average scores on subscales « loss » and « threat » and a lower average score on the subscale « challenge », compared to professionals. Finally, regarding the specifics found among professionals, the results show that the years of experience have an effect on perceived stress. Specifically, teachers and educators who have more experience perceive their work with children with ASD as a challenge. This is consistent with the results of studies showing that teachers who have had experience with children with ASD had less difficulty in their interventions.