Parental perceptions of the role of Applied Behaviour Analysis intervention for children with autism during the transition from early childhood education settings to primary school

The transition to school time for children with autism may represent a period of an increased stress for the whole family. Some parents choose to try the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) intervention for their children as a way of reducing that stress and to assist the child’s transition. This study focuses on the role the ABA intervention might play during this period of time from a parental point of view. A qualitative approach grounded in an interpretive methodology has been used for this study. Data were collected through nine families participating in email surveys, and four of them then agreed to participate in semi-structured follow-up interviews. In all nine families, the ABA intervention of various intensity had happened with when their children were transitioning from pre-school settings to primary school. Three themes emerged in the course of the study: ABA intervention, even though chosen to facilitate the transition phase, does not seem to be the only factor that contributes to the successful transition to school; Language skills improvement with help of ABA therapy during transition time is seen as a stress decreasing factor; The influence of the ABA intervention during transition time was not always positive towards the younger siblings. All nine families emphasised that the financial aspect of the ABA intervention (namely, high cost) was seen as an extra stress factor during transition to school time. The high cost of the therapy was also linked to this study’s difficulties with recruitment. The findings, although only limited to the perspectives of nine participants, highlight the importance of families with children with autism to be prepared for the possible challenges during transition to school time. They also demonstrate the importance of further study in the field of the role of early interventions during transition phases of the young children with autism and imply that other factors apart from the interventions might play an important role in a child’s with autism transition to school time