**3. Parental empowerment**

undertaken by the first author initially for his doctoral thesis but continued in his post-doctoral research. As a clinical psychologist, he had previously worked in services for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities on assessment and rehabilitation programmes.

The study started with two main aims: 1) to enhance current knowledge on the impact of taking care of a child with ASD on family dynamics in Iran; and 2) to help parents in reducing negative effects of raising a child with ASD through short educational courses and extending their social network through providing opportunities for meeting each other. He first undertook a survey of parents' experiences in Tehran to having a child with ASD [21] and how the personal impact on families differed from those with a child who had intellectual disabilities [27]. From this study, an introductory training course on ASD for parents was devised and evaluated [25]. The longer –term impact of such a course was also assessed and the contribution that mutual support from other parents can make to maternal well-being in particular [15]. Further resource materials to inform and guide parents were developed – DVDs, educational packs and the

There is no unique scientific method to guide the process of empirical enquiry. Likewise, there is no distinctive conceptual model that can be applied in all research programmes of family studies. So, the aim of this chapter is NOT to build up an all-embracing model in such a complex area as family environment. No one model would be sufficiently comprehensive that it could guide all future research. However, without adopting some form of CM no research could be done and so, adopting a CM is the first and indispensable part of research that no researcher could avoid even if they never make explicit the CM that underpinned their study which in

But how does a researcher choose among the competing CMs that are available and which are likely to prove suitable for other cultures? Again, there is not a single and simple guideline to help the researcher's choice. This is a tricky and potentially fallible step and one that has to be informed by the chosen topic of the investigation, the extant literature on it and the experiences gained personally by the researcher and in consultation with practitioners and families who have the lived experience of the chosen phenomena. It is some consolation to know that the CM initially chosen often is found to have shortcomings when it is put into practice. Aban‐ doning the chosen CM and adopting another one is not a good recommendation most of the time; especially when the chosen CM has enabled us to deal with certain aspects of the problem. The better solution is to extend the CM to encompass newly identified issues. By offering an example around parental empowerment that might be useful to others, we aim to show how the formation of a more complete CM can be achieved. In so doing, we hope to draw out the ways in which this case study could assist practitioners and also the future research questions

provision of educational materials [27].

234 Autism Spectrum Disorder - Recent Advances

fact frequently happens.

that can emanate from it.

**2. Identifying appropriate conceptual models**

In developing countries parental empowerment is a relatively new term in the literature on children with developmental disabilities. Yet involving parents in the process of promoting their child's development seems to be the most rational solution to the lack of support and services for this group of children and their families. Even in developed and more affluent societies, parental empowerment is a growing concern as [18] point out. Financial constraints and changing ideologies have expanded parents' roles to include the jobs of "information seeker, problem solver, committee member, public educator, political activist and, most importantly, spokesperson for the needs of their children".

Empowerment has been defined as "an intentional, ongoing process … through which people lacking an equal share of valued resources, gain greater access to and control over those resources" (Cornell Empowerment Group, 1989, p. 2 cited in [19] The word '*intentional*' refers to the psychological aspects of empowerment; '*ongoing process'* refers to the likely up and downs that will be encountered as well as the need for persistence of over time; '*lacking an equal share of valued resources'* refers to the societal aspects that disadvantage families and '*greater access to and control over'* summarises the intended outcomes.

The first challenge was to find a CM that could be adopted so as to empower parents of children with ASD in Iran. Part of the difficulty with research on topic of parental empowerment is that it is context and culturally dependent [35]. This makes it a real challenge to find a universal model of parental empowerment.

However there are some general criteria that can guide the choice among available CMs. Simplicity, wideness of scope and easiness of applicability may be among these criteria (see [16] for the virtues of a good theory). However, such criteria may be too general; appealing more to philosophers of science and can appear trivial especially in assisting practitioners in their choice of CM.

The following criteria were used to select appropriate CMs for research into parental empow‐ erment in Iran:


We now examine each of these in more detail.
