Abstract
This study examines whether family qual- ity of life(FQOL)could be improved by a collaborative approach utilizing consultation tools mainly by mail between families of children with disabilities and university faculty. The subjects were infants with autism spectrum disorders with intellectual disabilities as well as their families. The target behaviors of the subject were two behaviors : leaving the place with the door open and doing something different from the morning preparation. For these targeted behaviors, the mother improved the room environment and praised the appropriate behaviors after spontaneous behavior. The result was : Compared to baseline condition,
(1)target behaviors improved.(2)The numbers of FQOL improvement items were 11 out of 25 items.(3)The mother reported the following : It became possible to communicate not only with the mother but also with the father, grandmother, and the target child. The results suggested that the procedures of the collaborative approach, which mainly utilized the consultation tool by mail, contributed to the improvement of FQOL. Future issues are :(1)Collaboration with other organizations,(2)Implementation of a community-based collaborative approach,(3)Limitations of communication by mail.
