An Investigation On The Burden Of Caregivers Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder And An Intervention Study Based On Virtual Reality Technology

BackgroundAutism Spectrum Disorders（ASD）is a neurodevelopmental disorder that originates in infancy.As one of the clinical manifestations of children with ASD,cognitive impairment has attracted increasing attention of clinical workers.In recent years,with the application of drugs and scientific interventions,the cognitive impairment of children with ASD has been greatly improved.However,the problems of simple,boring and low repeatability still exist.As a new technology in recent years,virtual reality technology has been gradually applied to various fields.In this study,virtual reality technology was combined with the existing clinical rehabilitation training for children with ASD to improve the active participation of children with ASD and effectively improve their cognitive development.ObjectiveTo investigate the status quo of cognitive rehabilitation and caregivers’ burden of children with autism spectrum disorder,according to the survey results,develop corresponding virtual reality rehabilitation training program,and evaluate the application effect of the program,so as to improve the cognitive development of children with ASD and reduce caregivers’ burden.Methods1.Current situation investigation From September 2020 to April 2021,children with autism spectrum disorder and their parents who visited the ASD children rehabilitation center in two Grade A hospitals in Xinxiang city were selected as the research subjects.The self-made general data questionnaire and Zarit caregiver burden scale were used to investigate the status quo.According to the information provided by caregivers,formulate reasonable virtual reality intervention training programs and apply them.2.Clinical intervention Forty-four ASD children who met the inclusion criteria were divided into the intervention group and the control group according to the order of hospitalization,22 in each group.The two groups of children with ASD were given routine clinical rehabilitation training,and the intervention group was given virtual reality rehabilitation training program on this basis.The two groups of children with ASD were compared for the psychological Education Assessment Scale（PEP-3）and Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale（ZBI）scores.SPSS25.0 was used to analyze the data,and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results1.Current situation investigation The family caregiver burden score of ASD children was（52.62±14.65）,which was at the moderate level.Gender of ASD child caregivers（P<0.05）,treatment duration of children（F=4.095,P<0.05）,per capita monthly income of families（F=3.834,P<0.05）,and payment method of medical expenses（F=4.808,P<0.05）had significant effects on the total score of caregiver burden scale,while age of caregivers had no statistical significance on the total score（P>0.05）.Linear regression showed that treatment duration positively affected caregivers’ burden stress（P<0.05）,which explained 27.2% of the total variation.2.Clinical intervention（1）Psychological Education Assessment Scale for Autistic Children（PEP-3）score:2 groups of children with ASD before intervention cognition（Z=-1.657,P>0.05）,social（t=1.025,P>0.05）,language comprehension（Z=-1.624,P>0.05）,gross muscle（Z=-0.202,P>0.05）,imitation（t=1.446,P>0.05）there was no significant difference in affective expression（t=1.900,P>0.05）.Three months after intervention,the scores of children’s cognitive and social development in the intervention group and the control group were better than those before intervention,with statistical significance（P<0.05）.The score difference between the two groups after intervention showed that the children in the intervention group had better cognitive and social development than the control group,and the difference was statistically significant（Z=-5.173,P<0.001;Z=-4.233,P<0.001）.（2）Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale（ZBI）score: There was no difference in ZBI score of ASD caregivers between the two groups before intervention（P>0.05）,and the score of the intervention group was better than the control group after intervention,the difference was statistically significant（P<0.001）,while there was no significant difference in the control group after intervention（P>0.05）.Conclusions1.The burden of child caregivers with ASD was moderate,and the duration of treatment was a positive factor influencing the burden of family caregivers.2.The treatment based on virtual reality technology combined with clinical routine rehabilitation training has played an effective role in children’s cognition,social interaction,imitation,gross muscle movement and other aspects,especially in the field of cognition and social interaction.The rehabilitation effect of children after intervention also indirectly affects the burden level of caregivers.