Multiple Family Narrative Therapy for Chinese Families of Children With Dyslexia
Condition: Dyslexia; Special Education; Special Needs Children
MeSH terms: Dyslexia
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The goal of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to develop and to implement a multiple
      family narrative therapy (MFNT) intervention consisting of parent-child relationships
      training among Chinese families of children with Dyslexia (CFCDs). The intervention aims to
      reduce the psychological distress of parents and their child, thus improving parent-child
      relationships, and the trial aims to assess the effectiveness of MFNT among them. A RCT
      design supplemented by qualitative interviews will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of
      MFNT on family welfare.
    

Detailed description: 
      Dyslexia is a learning disability that causes problems with reading, writing, sequential
      learning, and phonological processing. It is a diagnosable disorder that commonly coexist
      with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The estimated percentage of
      dyslexia in Hong Kong ranges from 9.7 to 12.6%. From 2016 to 2019, the number of students
      with special learning difficulties in both primary and secondary schools increased by 8.3%.
      These current statistics project that the number of children with dyslexia will continue to
      rise in the near future.

      International studies indicated that dyslexia impacts the whole family. There are three
      common problems experienced by families of children with dyslexia: 1) problematic
      parent-child relationship; 2) parental and psychological distress; and 3) lack of social
      support. Statistics in Hong Kong also show that Chinese families of children with dyslexia
      experience similar problems. With daily academic demands, parents are constantly looking for
      effective ways to manage problems faced by their children with dyslexia even though they do
      not fully understand their child's dyslexia conditions. In Hong Kong, few studies of
      psychoeducational models have focused on parent-child relationships, parental stress, and
      social support for families of children with learning disabilities. The psychological
      approaches mainly address the behavioural changes of children with Special Educational Needs
      (SEN). To offset this research gap, it is important to adopt a psychoeducational model and
      evaluate the effects of the model's intervention on both parents and their children with SEN.

      This study addresses a need in the Hong Kong Chinese community and has four expected
      outcomes: 1) it tests the effectiveness of Multiple Family Narrative Therapy (MFNT) as a
      brief-targeted intervention model; 2) it facilitates a participatory approach that engages
      both parents and children; 3) it designs a practice manual that is culturally applicable in
      the Chinese context; and 4) it encourages the use of the practice manual that outlines a
      tested model in school and integrative family services.

      This study is an evidence-informed and knowledge-building study that aims to test the
      effectiveness of a brief-targeted MFNT integrative family therapy in Hong Kong compared to a
      "Treatment as Usual" school-focused approach to work with Chinese family of children with
      Dyslexia (CFCDs). This approach will target the importance of shifting from academic
      achievement driven approach, which intensify conflictual parent-child relationship to a
      collaborative model where family members can review one's identity and re-choose the pattern
      of interaction among the family members.

      The first objective of this study is to test the effectiveness of a brief-targeted Multiple
      Family Narrative Therapy (MFNT) for Chinese families of children with dyslexia (CFCDs) in
      Hong Kong, in reducing psychological distress of parents and children, building healthy
      parent-child relationships, and promoting the use of social support. The second objective is
      to examine the process of change in attitudes and interactions among family members
      participating in MFNT.
    

Intervention name(s): Multiple Family Narrative Therapy (MFNT); School services for families of children with Dyslexia
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): MFNT consist of 4 weekly group sessions with selected themes from both multiple family therapy (MFT) and narrative therapy (NT) offered in a group format. The family is treated as a system through both psychodynamic practices and attachment theories to manage symptoms, to achieve family resilience, and to empower both parents and child to share their unique and lived value-driven experiences. MFNT provides families with therapeutic environments that are conducive to learning and modelling in order to facilitate the process of building healthier parent-child dyads.; Selected school personnel will deliver services as usual for the control group.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Dyslexia; Narrative therapy; Efficacy; Intervention; Multiple family group; Parent-child; Special educational needs