A mindful parenting program for self-care co-occupation of autistic children on parental outcomes: a feasibility pilot randomized clinical trial

PURPOSE: This pilot randomized clinical trial (RCT) evaluated the feasibility and exploratory effects of a mindful parenting participation program integrated into occupational therapy (OT) to enhance parental engagement in the self-care co-occupation of autistic children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to the intervention (mindfulness-based training + conventional OT) or the comparison groups (conventional OT). The two-month intervention was followed by assessments immediately post-intervention and at two months. Outcomes were measured using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ), Parenting Stress Index (PSI), and CAPES-DD for parental self-efficacy. RESULTS: Feasibility was confirmed, with high rates of acceptability (87.5%), attendance (75%), compliance (75%), and fidelity. The intervention group showed preliminary and exploratory improvement in parental satisfaction with the child's self-care co-occupation compared to the control group, with a clinically meaningful change (SMD: 2.1 at the post-test, 1.4 at the follow-up). Improvements were also observed in mindful parenting and parenting stress. Parental self-efficacy showed delayed gains, becoming comparable at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Embedding mindfulness into parenting co-occupations is feasible and potentially beneficial in improving parental satisfaction and psychological well-being. Future studies with larger samples and longer follow-up are warranted.