Examining the perceptions of needs, services and abilities of Czech and North Macedonian caregivers of children with autism and trainers

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic information of the caregivers by country.

	CZECH n = 144	NM n = 89	Combined N = 233
Age
Mean (SD)	40.8 (6.97)	40.2 (9.71)	40.6 (8.11)
Gender, n (%)
Female	134 (93%)	66 (74%)	200 (86%)
Male	9 (6%)	23 (26%)	32 (14%)
Other	1 (1%)	0 (0%)	1 (0%)
Household income level, n (%)
High	11 (8%)	4 (4%)	15 (6%)
Medium	93 (65%)	77 (87%)	170 (73%)
Low	40 (28%)	8 (9%)	48 (21%)
Living situation, n (%)
Married/living with a partner	110 (76%)	73 (82%)	183 (79%)
Divorced	11(8%)	6 (7%)	17 (7%)
Single parent	23 (16%)	10 (11%)	33 (14%)
Age of autistic child, Mean (SD)	9.5 (5.40)	9 (4.90)	9.25 (5.21)
Number of siblings, n (%)
0	30 (21%)	30 (34%)	60 (26%)
1	76 (53%)	42 (47%)	118 (51%)
2	29 (20%)	11 (12%)	40 (17%)
3 and more	9 (6%)	6 (6%)	15 (6%)
Autistic siblings
Yes	18 (16%)	8 (13%)	26 (15%)
No	126 (84%)	81 (87%)	207 (85%)
Caregiver heard of ABA
Yes	125 (87%)	26 (29%)	151 (65%)
No	19 (13%)	63 (71%)	82 (35%)
Autistic child received ABA
Yes	29 (20%)	9 (10%)	38 (16%)
Unsure	13 (9%)	25 (28%)	38 (16%)
No	102 (71%)	55 (62%)	157 (67%)

Note: SD, Standard Deviation; ABA, Applied Behaviour Analysis.

Table 2. Caregiver reports of behaviors.

N = 233	CZECH	NM	Chi square tests of independence
Highly Prevalent Behaviors
Engaging in repetitive body movements.	37%	66%	χ^2 (1) = 19.158, p = <.001*
Repeating sounds or phrases.	44%	69%	χ^2 (1) = 13.577, p= <.001*
Manipulating objects repeatedly.	32%	71%	χ^2 (1) = 33.332, p = <.001*
Physical aggression towards others (e.g. hitting, kicking, pushing, biting, spitting on others).	14%	31%	χ^2 (1) = 10.383, p =.001*
Verbal aggression towards others.	9%	13%	χ^2 (1) = 1.140, p = .286
Property destruction.	15%	21%	χ^2 (1) = 1.770, p =.183
Self-injurious behavior (e.g. hitting, scratching, biting, own body, pulling own hair).	14%	22%	χ^2 (1) = 2.850, p = .091
Pica (mouthing or swallowing non-food items).	13%	24%	χ^2 (1) = 4.815, p =.041*
Vomiting or rumination.	3%	4%	χ^2 (1) = .155, p= .694
Highly Prevalent Skill-Specific Behaviors
Follows instructions.	43%	28%	χ^2 (1) = 5.264, p = .022*
Making requests for wanted/needed items.	58%	47%	χ^2 (1) = 2.415, p =.120
Engages in self-care tasks (e.g. brushing teeth, getting dressed, using the toilet).	39%	33%	χ^2 (1) =.944, p =.331
Participates in family meal-times.	54%	25%	χ^2 (1) = 19.470, p = <.001*
Entertains him/herself with a leisure activity for at least 10 min.	44%	29%	χ^2 (1) = 5.383, p = .020*
Demonstrates awareness of the needs of others (e.g., asking if someone is okay).	15%	6%	χ^2 (1) = 5.010, p = .025*
Plays with siblings or other children of a similar age for at least 10 min.	18%	11%	χ^2 (1) = 1.958, p = .162
Identifying which individuals are strangers and which individuals are family members (safe versus unsafe people/situations).	51%	11%	χ^2 (1) = 37.344, p = <.001*

Note: % indicate proportion of caregivers, who reported high prevalcence of the described behavior in their child with ASD, * statistically significant association.

Table 3. Caregiver reports of confidence with ABA concepts.

N = 233	CZECH	NM	Chi square tests of independence
ABA Concepts
Reinforcement.	38%	4%	χ^2 (1) = 33.035, p = <.001*
Extinction (planned ignoring).	28%	6%	χ^2 (1) = 17.333, p = <.001*
The ABC model (antecedent, behavior, consequence).	39%	3%	χ^2 (1) = 36.695, p = <.001*
The four functions of behavior (escape, attention, access, automatic).	25%	7%	χ^2 (1) = 12.409, p = <.001*
Proactive intervention strategies (antecedent-based intervention strategies).	19%	7%	χ^2 (1) = 6.524, p = .011*
Functional communication training.	31%	11%	χ^2 (1) = 12.218, p = <.001*
Chaining using task analyses.	25%	9%	χ^2 (1) = 9.205, p = .002*
Token economy systems.	24%	6%	χ^2 (1) = 13.508, p = <.001*
Prompting procedures.	29%	8%	χ^2 (1) = 15.028, p = <.001*
Time out.	19%	4%	χ^2 (1) = 9.691, p = .002*

Note: % indicate proportion of caregivers, who reported confidence with the described ABA concept, * statistically significant association.

Table 4. Demographic information of the trainers by country.

	CZECH	NM	Combined
	n = 104	n = 100	N = 204
Age
Mean (SD)	32.7 (9.65)	37.5 (9.06)	35.1 (9.65)
Gender, n (%)
Female	95 (90%)	80 (80%)	175 (85%)
Male	8 (8%)	20 (20%)	28 (14%)
Other	1 (2%)	0 (0%)	1 (1%)
Education, n (%)
Master’s Degree or higher	30 (29%)	36 (36%)	66 (32%)
Bachelor's Degree	39 (38%)	64 (64%)	103 (50%)
High School Diploma	35 (34%)	0 (0%)	35 (17%)
Profession, n (%)
Classroom Teacher	31 (30%)	63 (63%)	94 (46%)
Assistant Teacher	33 (32%)	17 (17%)	50 (25%)
Consultant	1 (1%)	6 (6%)	7 (3%)
Behavior Specialist	12 (12%)	1 (1%)	13 (6%)
Student	17 (16%)	1 (1%)	18 (9%)
Other	10 (10%)	12 (12%)	22 (11%)
Years in the field
Mean (SD)	5.4 (4.22)	9.4 (6.61)	7.4 (5.86)
Received Training in ABA, n (%)
Yes	34 (33%)	22 (22%)	56 (27%)
Unsure	10 (10%)	9 (9%)	19 (9%)
No	60 (58%)	69 (69%)	129 (63%)
Trained Caregivers in ABA, n (%)
Yes	21 (20%)	11 (11%)	32 (16%)
Unsure	0 (0%)	3 (3%)	3 (1%)
No	83 (80%)	86 (86%)	169 (83%)

Table 5. Trainers reports of experience.

N = 204	CZECH	NM	Chi square tests of independence
Behaviors Targeted
Engaging in repetitive body movements.	61%	24%	χ^2 (1) = 27.885, p = <.001*
Repeating sounds or phrases.	69%	18%	χ^2 (1) = 54.272, p = <.001*
Manipulating objects repeatedly.	70%	22%	χ^2 (1) = 47.585, p = <.001*
Physical aggression towards others (e.g. hitting, kicking, pushing, biting, spitting on others).	86%	26%	χ^2 (1) = 73.575, p = <.001*
Verbal aggression towards others.	52%	12%	χ^2 (1) = 37.127, p = <.001*
Property destruction.	71%	19%	χ^2 (1) = 55.902, p = <.001*
Self-injurious behavior (e.g. hitting, scratching, biting, own body, pulling own hair).	68%	20%	χ^2 (1) = 48.071, p = <.001*
Pica (mouthing or swallowing non-food items).	45%	13%	χ^2 (1) = 25.448, p = <.001*
Vomiting or rumination.	8%	5%	χ^2 (1) = .619, p = .431
Skill-Specific Behaviors Targeted
Following instructions.	88%	27%	χ^2 (1) = 79.233, p = <.001*
Making requests for wanted/needed items.	82%	27%	χ^2 (1) = 61.677, p = <.001*
Engaging in self-care tasks (e.g. brushing teeth, getting dressed, using the toilet).	77%	22%	χ^2 (1) = 61.514, p = <.001*
Participating in family meal-times.	47%	21%	χ^2 (1) = 15.426, p = <.001*
Entertaining him/herself with a leisure activity for at least 10 min.	64%	19%	χ^2 (1) = 43.136, p = <.001*
Demonstrating awareness of the needs of others (e.g., asking if someone is okay).	47%	12%	χ^2 (1) = 29.991, p = <.001*
Playing with siblings or other children of a similar age for at least 10 min.	68%	20%	χ^2 (1) = 48.071, p = <.001*
Identifying which individuals are strangers and which individuals are family members (safe versus unsafe people/situations).	47%	19%	χ^2 (1) = 18.134, p = <.001*

Note: % indicate proportion of trainers, who reported experience with delivering parent training focused on the described behavior, *statistically significant association.

Table 6. Trainer reports of confidence with ABA concepts.

N = 204	CZECH	NM	Chi square tests of independence
ABA Concept Targeted
Reinforcement	33%	7%	χ^2 (1) = 20.656, p = <.001*
Extinction (planned ignoring)	29%	10%	χ^2 (1) = 11.487, p = <.001*
The ABC model (antecedent, behavior, consequence)	26%	8%	χ^2 (1) = 11.572, p = <.001*
The four functions of behavior (escape, attention, access, automatic)	27%	9%	χ^2 (1) = 11.030, p = <.001*
Proactive intervention strategies (antecedent-based intervention strategies)	21%	7%	χ^2 (1) = 8.375, p = .004*
Functional communication training	27%	13%	χ^2 (1) = 6.154, p = .013*
Chaining using task analyses	23%	8%	χ^2 (1) = 8.762, p = .003*
Token economy systems	39%	8%	χ^2 (1) = 27.582, p = <.001*
Prompting procedures	28%	8%	χ^2 (1) = 13.576, p = <.001*
Time out	24%	7%	χ^2 (1) = 11.190, p = <.001*

Note: % indicate proportion of trainers, who reported confidence with the described ABA concept,.

*statistically significant association.

Table 7. Table ABA concepts: comparison of North Macedonian caregivers and trainers.

n = 189	Caregivers	Trainers	Chi square tests of independence
North Macedonia – ABA Concepts
Reinforcement.	4%	7%	χ^2 (1) = .539, p = .463
Extinction (planned ignoring)	6%	10%	χ^2 (1) = 1.238, p = .266
The ABC model (antecedent, behavior, consequence)	3%	8%	χ^2 (1) = 1.841, p = .175
The four functions of behavior (escape, attention, access, automatic)	7%	9%	χ^2 (1) = .329, p = .566
Proactive intervention strategies (antecedent-based intervention strategies)	7%	7%	χ^2 (1) = .005, p = .944
Functional communication training	11%	13%	χ^2 (1) = .137, p = .711
Chaining using task analyses	9%	8%	χ^2 (1) = .059, p = .807
Token economy systems	6%	8%	χ^2 (1) = .417, p = .518
Prompting procedures	8%	8%	χ^2 (1) = .001, p = .973
Time out	4%	7%	χ^2 (1) = .539, p = .463

Note: % indicate proportion of Czech caregivers and trainers, who reported confidence with the described ABA concept,

* statistically significant association.

Table 8. Table ABA concepts: comparison of Czech Caregivers and trainers.

n = 248	Caregivers	Trainers	Chi square tests of independence
Czech Republic – ABA Concepts
Reinforcement	38%	33%	χ^2 (1) = .795, p = .373
Extinction (planned ignoring)	28%	29%	χ^2 (1) = .034, p = .854
The ABC model (antecedent, behavior, consequence)	39%	26%	χ^2 (1) = 4.532, p = .033*
The four functions of behavior (escape, attention, access, automatic)	25%	27%	χ^2 (1) = .117, p = .733
Proactive intervention strategies (antecedent-based intervention strategies)	19%	21%	χ^2 (1) = .220, p = .639
Functional communication training	31%	27%	χ^2 (1) = .544, p = .461
Chaining using task analyses	25%	23%	χ^2 (1) = .122, p = .727
Token economy systems	24%	39%	χ^2 (1) = 6.493, p = .011*
Prompting procedures	29%	28%	χ^2 (1) = .049, p = .826
Time out	19%	24%	χ^2 (1) = 1.019, p = .313

Note: % indicate proportion of Czech caregivers and trainers, who reported confidence with the described ABA concept.

* statistically significant association.