Effectiveness of Planned Teaching Programme Regarding Knowledge and Attitude among Family Caregivers of Autistic Children in Selected Institute of Visually Handicapped at Rajpur Road, Dehradun

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by challenges in communication, social interaction, and behaviour. caring for a child with autism can be demanding and often places significant emotional, social, and financial strain on family members, particularly caregivers. lack of adequate knowledge and unfavourable attitudes among caregivers may hinder the overall care and development of the child. The main aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a planned teaching program in enhancing the knowledge and improving the attitude of family caregivers regarding the care and management of children with autism spectrum disorder. By employing a pre-experimental one-group pre-test and post-test design, the study effectively measured the impact of the planned teaching program on the knowledge and attitude of family caregivers of autistic children. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 60 caregivers, ensuring relevance to the study population. The findings of the study revealed a significant improvement in both knowledge and attitude of family caregivers after the implementation of the planned teaching program. the mean pre-test knowledge score was 9.10, which increased to 14.23 in the post-test, showing a statistically significant difference (t=3.072, p=0.0016). similarly, the mean pre-test attitude score was 43.57, which increased to 61.42 in the post-test, also demonstrating a highly significant difference (t=9.103, p=0.0001). these results indicate that the planned teaching program was effective in enhancing caregivers’ understanding as well as fostering a more positive attitude toward the care of children with autism spectrum disorder.