Effectiveness of menstruation hygiene skills training for adolescents with autism

BACKGROUND Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder(ASD)may encounter many difficulties with their menstrual cycles.Potential challenges that adolescents with ASD may face include understanding physical changes,coping with symptoms,emotional sensitivity,communication,personal care,and hygiene.AIM To evaluate the effect of menstrual hygiene skills training given to adolescents with ASD on their menstrual hygiene skills.METHODS The study was conducted with 15 adolescents diagnosed with ASD by the single group pre-test and post-test model in three special education centers in Türkiye.Data were collected with the Adolescent and Parent Information Form and the Adolescent-Specific Menstrual Hygiene Skill Registration Form.RESULTS While the mean age of adolescents was 16.06±0.88 years,the mean age of individuals responsible for adolescent care was 43.66±5.56 years.While 60.0%of the adolescents noticed the onset of bleeding before training,this rate was 93.3%after training.The Adolescent-Specific Menstrual Hygiene Skill Registration Form showed a statistically significant increase in the application steps after the training.The difference between the menstrual hygiene skill scores of adolescents CONCLUSION The menstrual hygiene skills training given to adolescents with ASD was beneficial in increasing their menstrual hygiene skills.These individuals must take responsibility during menstruation and independently manage their continuous care activities.

Mental health of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review

BACKGROUND Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder(ASD)may have great difficulties when their routines change,and this may affect the psychological wellbeing of their parents.For this reason,it is important to examine studies that address the mental health of parents in order to adapt to the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic.AIM To determine the mental health status of parents with children diagnosed with ASD in the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS The study,which is a systematic review,was conducted between December 15,2020 and December 30,2020 by scanning articles in English.The Scopus,Science Direct,PubMed,Cochrane,Web of Science,and Google Scholar databases were used for scanning.The keywords COVID-19 AND(“autism”OR“autistic”OR“autism spectrum disorder”)AND parent AND(“mental health”OR“anxiety”OR“stress”)were used in the search process.The inclusion criteria in the study were findings regarding the mental health of parents with children diagnosed with ASD in the COVID-19 pandemic,addressing their anxiety and stress situations,being a research article,and accessing the full text of the article.RESULTS In the study,a total of 6389 articles were reached,and the full texts of 173 articles were evaluated for eligibility.After the articles excluded by the full-text search were eliminated,12 studies involving 7105 parents were included in the analysis.The findings obtained from the articles containing data on mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic of parents with children with autism spectrum disorder were discussed in three groups.These were findings on the experiences of parents with children with ASD in the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the areas where parents with children with ASD need support in the COVID-19 pandemic and methods of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic for parents with children with ASD.In the systematic review,it was determined that the anxiety and stress of the parents increased,they needed more support compared to the pre-pandemic period,and they had difficulty coping.CONCLUSION In this systematic review,it was concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the mental health of the parents of children with ASD.