The Faculty of Psychology UGM, through the Center for Life-Span Development (CLSD), in collaboration with RSUP Dr. Sardjito, has initiated a community engagement program that focuses on strengthening parents’ capacity to support children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The program develops an educational toolkit titled “Parental Support Toolkit: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Adolescents” designed to be accessible, practical, and evidence-based. By emphasizing parental attunement—the ability of parents to understand and respond sensitively and synchronously to their child’s signals—the program aims to help families stimulate children’s social skills in everyday contexts.
This initiative stems from the pressing need for family support in caring for children with ASD, including long therapy queues and limited face-to-face time with professionals, as observed in cases handled at RSUP Dr. Sardjito. At the same time, many parents face knowledge and strategy gaps in caregiving, such as excessive use of screens to calm tantrums, which in the long run may impede social skill development. These pressures often affect parents’ psychological well-being and, in turn, the quality of their interactions with their children. The program positions parents as primary agents of stimulation through warm, responsive, and consistent relationships, enabling sustainable intervention at home.
The program’s core objectives are to enhance parents’ understanding of ASD (its symptoms, types, and challenges), develop parental attunement skills, and strengthen parents’ ability to stimulate children’s social skills in a targeted manner. The content is structured to guide families in recognizing children’s signals, building joint attention, regulating emotions, sharing space and play, and enriching interactions that foster autonomy. This framework complements commonly used interventions by highlighting the emotional quality of parent–child relationships as the foundation for effective stimulation.
Implementation follows a Research and Development (R&D) approach across four stages: developing the toolkit based on literature and partner needs; expert judgment to validate content; implementation through parent training; and evaluation using pre–post tests. During training, parents receive lectures, structured practice facilitation, and checklists to monitor the application of attunement and social stimulation strategies at home.
The implementation team comprises lecturers and assistants from the Faculty of Psychology UGM: Restu Tri Handoyo, S.Psi., M.Psi., Ph.D., Psychologist (lead); Sutarimah Ampuni, S.Psi., M.Si., M.Psych., Ph.D., Psychologist; and Aisha Sekar Lazuardini Rachmanie, S.Psi., M.Psi., Psychologist; assisted by undergraduate and graduate students as well as unit assistants. The community service partner (PkM) is Dr. Sardjito General Hospital, which provided participant support (parents of children with ASD) and collaborated in the field implementation through a partnership with Agus Fitria, S.Psi, M.A., Psikolog, representing the hospital’s psychology team. This collaboration ensures that materials are clinically relevant and responsive to family needs while strengthening community-based service networks.
Expected outputs include a validated ASD education toolkit accessible to parents, intellectual property registration (HKI), and popular article publications. At the family level, the program is expected to improve the quality of parent–child interactions, reduce parenting stress, and enhance children’s social functioning. At the community level, the toolkit can serve as a practical reference for facilitators, community cadres, and child development institutions to expand inclusive support.
The intended impact goes beyond knowledge gain toward transforming daily caregiving practices. With parental attunement at its core, parents are encouraged to build sensitive, warm, and consistent relationships—prerequisites for children with ASD to learn to read social cues, engage in conversation, share attention, and regulate emotions. As home interactions become more aligned, formal therapy sessions can become more meaningful because children experience consistent patterns of support. Moving forward, the toolkit is expected to be replicated across services and communities so that more families benefit.
Supported by the 2025 Community Engagement (PkM) Grant from the Faculty of Psychology UGM, the program “Parental Support Toolkit: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Adolescents” reflects the Faculty’s commitment to expanding societal impact through high-quality, measurable, and sustainable solutions. By strengthening family capacities and fostering campus–hospital synergy, this initiative advances more inclusive and equitable services for children with ASD and their families.
Writer: Raden Roro Anisa Anggi Dinda