Question: What is a good response that offers tips or suggestions to this discussion post?
The population my program is looking into are parents or caregivers, aged 18 to 35 years old, of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Multiple ethical and cultural concerns need to be taken into account when working with this population. ASD and diagnoses have been growing in the last few years, going from 1 in 150 children in 2000 to 1 in 31 in 2025 (CDC, 2025). So with this rise is diagnoses there is also an incredible increase in awareness and research for ASD. Yet, with all of this research on those afflicted with ASD, there is minimal research into the affects of ASD on the family members or caregivers. This makes it crucial to maintain such high standards for the ethical and cultural considerations of this program evaluation.
The American Counseling Association has some pretty strict ethical codes, there a few that seem critical to keep in mind while working with this population. The first that sticks out is A.4.a Avoiding Harm (ACA, 2014). It is the counselor's duty to ensure that no avoidable harm comes to their clients. An ethical code like this is specially important to this population because they are the direct caregiver of someone with developmental disability. Any avoidable or accidental harm, whether it be emotional, mental, or physical, also can harm a 'protected population." The notions of informed consent, confidentiality, and mandated reporting also need to be explicitly expressed with each participant. While the parents and caregivers are the ones receiving treatment, it is the counselors duty to also keep an eye for suspicious or potentially troubling information about their children. This program is looking into depression and anxiety symptoms of parents and caregivers of children with ASD. Symptoms of these illnesses do not directly imply neglect or abuse, it is best practice for the counselor to be on the lookout for any potential signs.
The biggest concern for this program evaluation would be finding and retaining enough participants. Participants could run into a multitude of problems, from "common issues" like not being any resources in their area to more complex ones such as appropriate special needs care for their children. There is also the concern of retaining participants as well. With the anecdotal notion of the child's needs outweighing the parent or caregivers own, there is a genuine likelihood a participant may stop seeking treatment. Keeping this in mind, and actively helping the participants with these perceived selfish emotions could go a long way. Differing cultural views on family and family values is something that the counselors also need to be cognizant of. These cultural differences could also play a part in participants either not showing up or not coming back. Need Assignment Help?