The present study was designed to examine how adults who had taken caregiving-roles as young carers in their childhood remembered caring for family members who had physical or mental disabilities, or chronic illnesses. “Young carers” describes children who take a caregiving role for their family members. The participants were 79 adults (35 men, 44 women; mean age 40.42 years) who had lived as a child with a family member who had had some kind of disability or illness, and, for comparison, 100 adults (46 men, 54 women; mean age 40.46 years) who had not lived with such a family member. All the participants were over 18 years old. The participants answered a web questionnaire asking them to report memories of their childhood. Additionally, those who had lived with a family member who had had some kind of disability or illness were asked to evaluate their past caregiving responsibilities. Comparison of the 2 groups revealed that those participants did not necessarily report more psychological stresses than did the participants in the control group, but their complicated family background, for example, their relationship with their mother or their friendliness with their siblings, influenced their remembered childhood psychological state signifıcantly. The participants who identified themselves as having been young carers reported having experienced less stress when their mother was considerate to them, and when they had been able to build a close relationship with their siblings. The discussion suggested that when providing support to young carers, it is necessary to give full consideration to their feelings about the caregiving role and also to construct mutual and affective family relationships.

Many studies have analyzed the psychological situation of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in the context of their difficulties. On the other hand, parenting children with autism spectrum disorders can involve physical and emotional challenges that may promote posttraumatic growth (PTG). “Posttraumatic growth” is defıned as positive psychological changes that result from adversity and other critical challenges, such that the individual rises to a higher level of functioning. The present study examined posttraumatic growth and related factors in mothers whose children had autism spectrum disorders. A self-administered questionnaire including a posttraumatic growth scale, a coping scale, and a social support scale was mailed to 202 mothers who were members of an association of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. The results of an analysis of the 57 valid responses that were received suggested that the mothers had a high level of posttraumatic growth on the measure of new possibilities. In addition, step-wise multiple regression analysis was used to investigate attributes, coping, and social support as explanatory variables for posttraumatic growth. The results indicated that positive interpretation, information gathering, and the existence of siblings accounted significantly for posttraumatic growth. These results suggest that two ways of coping may promote posttraumatic growth in mothers whose children have autism spectrum disorders. One way is thinking positively by using active, emotion-focused coping. The other way is gathering information about autism spectrum disorders. Furthermore, it was shown that mothers of more than one child were more likely to experience posttraumatic growth than were mothers whose only child had autism spectrum disorders. Limitations of the present study, suggestions for future research, and clinical implications of the results were also discussed.

In the present study, 10 adults with visual impairments who usually used routes with special guidance for people with visual impairments were asked to walk on a route without such guidance while using a white cane. They then completed a preliminary questionnaire about information that they had needed when they were walking. Using a tactile map with this information, a 9-year-old girl who was visual impaired received orientation and mobility training on pedestrian skills using a white cane. Before the training, the pedestrian skills required were analyzed. The training was given in a study room with an aisle for walking. The study room simulated a real scene. A tactile map was used, and the girl was instructed in how to obtain environmental information necessary for walking with the white cane. Generalization to an actual setting was evaluated. The results showed that tactile map learning using information on the route, in addition to orientation and mobility training in the actual place, were useful for teaching the participant to walk with a white cane. Difficulties were found in the mobility environment (for example, problems with orientation when moving) when she was acquiring the skill of using a white cane when walking.

In the present study, 3 children (5 years 4 months to 7 years 1 month) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and delayed language development were examined to ascertain whether their speech and language development changed during interactions that involved onomatopoeia, first, with a support person and then, after that, with their parents. With the support person providing onomatopoeic utterances, the occurrence rate of utterances and the proportion of onomatopoeia in the children's utterances increased for all 3 children. Additionally, these increases were maintained when the parents provided the model utterances. These findings suggest that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder can engage with their children using onomatopoeia. This may be because children with autism spectrum disorder and delayed language acquisition are more likely to produce onomatopoeic sounds spontaneously. Further research should investigate the introduction of onomatopoeia-related interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder and delayed language acquisition at their homes, and verify the effectiveness of that by measuring changes in their utterances.

The present study examined the effects of Dohsa-hou on the stability of sitting and accuracy of the concept of direction (e.g., direction indication, including perspective tasks). Dohsa-hou is a Japanese psycho-rehabilitative program that includes mental and physical relaxation. The participant was a boy, 8 years and 3 months old at the start of the study. Before engaging in Dohsa-hou, he could sustain a cross-legged sitting position by supporting himself with his hand. However, he could not maintain a sitting, kneeling, or standing position alone, owing to his cerebral palsy. He was given 23 sessions of Dohsa-hou, consisting of relaxation and vertical movement training. After that, he was able to move his hips and straighten his back, and he was able to hold his head up. In addition, he became able to move his body actively and sit in a chair. With his posture thus stabilized, he committed fewer errors in the direction task compared to baseline. The results suggest that, after using Dohsa-hou, the direction indication was rendered more accurate with reference to a sitting position because of being able to apply force vertically.