The dissertation is a comprehensive study of the problem of using a strength-based approach in social work with families raising children with developmental disabilities, including autism or in particular with autism, which is presented by the theoretical justification and experimental verification of the effectiveness of social intervention based on the strengths of the family in improving the subjective assessment of life quality.
The scientific novelty of the obtained results lies in the fact that:
- for the first time a methodological basis has been developed and the intervention program based on the family strengths approach has been tested; the effectiveness of the strength-based approach in social work to improve the quality of life of families raising children with autism is substantiated; the principles of the strength-based approach are revealed: unconditional belief in the client's potential, focusing on strength and resources; positive communicative interaction between social workers and the family; increasing readiness for change; consideration of family attitudes and experiences; differentiation of the sequence of changes from the least to the most traumatic; increasing family resources as a process of social work; features of the application of a strengths-based approach have been identified;
- the "family quality of life" concept has been clarified, which is considered as a multidimensional construct that includes material, socio-psychological, physical well-being, interpersonal relationships, social mobility, well-being of individuals and families in general, the rights and opportunities of the family, which are implemented through lens of the impact of the disability of one family member on others and on the family as a whole, the elements of which are located at different levels - individual, family, system;
- the social problems faced by families raising a child with autism and their impact on sustainability and family quality of life are systematized: limited access to community services, financial situation, lack of time, lack of autonomy, personalization of guilt, guardian burden, reduced parental self-efficacy, professional deprivation, social isolation, reduced mobility and family activity of in the system of social relations, reduced ability indicators;
- the further development of knowledge about existing strategies of social work to improve the quality of life of families raising children with autism, through the prism of modern theories of social work.
The relevance of the study is due to the withdrawal of social work from paternalistic, medical approaches to work with families with signs of vulnerability. Until recently, Ukraine used a deficient model of care in social work with families raising children with mental, neurological or intellectual disabilities, including autism. This model focuses on subject-object relationships, which focus on the problems and needs of clients and avoid the risks associated with negative consequences. However, numerous foreign studies have identified this model as ineffective and incapable of ensuring that families become active subjects in social interventions. Modern theories of social work suggest building social interventions in such a way that they do not focus on the problem, but on the individual or social group, in this case - the family, which has a certain amount of external and internal resources, the mobilization of which will allow it to overcome life difficulties, and to be resilient to changes in eco-social processes. The current trend proposes new demands on institutions, organizations, agencies and social services providers, which provide for "subjectivization" of the process of social intervention in order to ensure the client's right to participation and self-determination, in particular to support the family trajectory. Looking at families raising children with autism as integral clients who are able to influence social circumstances requires technologies and methods of social work based on (environmental, systemic, synergistic approaches, resilience theory and adaptive socialization theory), which declare the value and independence or autonomy of the client in the intervention process. This scientific view is in line with the practical approach of a strength-based approach as an approach and process on the one hand, and on the other hand, the method of empowering the family to solve life's difficulties and improve quality of life without an external support package.
The dissertation research is based on a reductionist, empirical-analytical philosophical basis, within the framework of the positivist paradigm of research in social work, based on experimental, statistical methodology using qualitative and quantitative research methods.
