The Effects of Middle School Transition Support Program Reflecting the Characteristics of ASD on Students’ Self-Efficacy, School Adjustment and Mothers’ Parenting Stress in Middle School Transition

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a middle school transition support program that reflects the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) for students with ASD and their mothers. The participants in this study consisted of 20 pairs(10 pairs as the experimental groups and 10 pairs as the control groups) of mothers and students with ASD in the sixth grade of elementary school who were about to enter a general middle school. This transition support program contains the general support required for a middle school transition, as well as the specific support reflecting the characteristics of ASD. Furthermore, it is a 15-session program that consists of six topics. This program is structured to support students with ASD and their mothers through both group and individual activities according to the topic. To examine the effect of this intervention, the self-efficacy and school adjustment of students with ASD, and mothers’ parenting stress in middle school transition were both measured and analyzed using an independent sample t-test. Results show that there were statistically significant differences in the pre-post changes of the students’ self-efficacy and mothers’ parenting stress in middle school transition between the experimental and control groups. However, the school adjustment of students in the experimental group revealed no statistically significant differences. Based on the results of this study, the impact of the middle school transition support program reflecting the characteristics of ASD, as well the significance of the study, are discussed along with limitations and suggestions for follow-up studies.