Development of Attachment Promotion Therapy Program for the Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

자폐장애 아동을 위한 애착증진치료 프로그램의 개발

Social deficits are the most critical and core deficits of the children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder(ASD) and they are qualitatively as well as qualitatively different from typically developing children. It is proposed that the attachment between the mother and the autistic child should be promoted foremost and early as possible, to improve social deficits, just like early social developments in normal children depend largely on interactions between the mother and the child who are attached to each other we have developed an interventional program, 'Attachment Promotion Therapy', largely based on the attachment theory. The Attachment promotion Therapy mandates the participation of both the mother and the autistic child, and consists of mutually enjoying play activities, close physical contacts and parental training on intense mother-child interactions, focusing on improving maternal sensitivity, responsiveness, and nurturing behaviors during their interactions. The program was found to be effective in improving attachment behaviors, attachment security and acquiring joint attention skills. Attachment Promotion Therapy is therefore proposed here as the important earliest intervention method for children with ASD and could become the base for many other educational and therapeutic interventions.