As you know I am always keen on helping promote academic (and other ) research into ASD. Firstly

because I’m the father of a son on the autistic spectrum but also because I spend 20 odd years in market research. Of which a decade was in healthcare!

So when Sanjivan Padman of HELP University in Kuala Lumpur got in touch I was delighted to help out.

Sanjivan writes” I am an undergraduate student from HELP University. I am doing a thesis on The Relationship of Parent-Child Closeness, Number of Children and Pet Ownership with Perceived Stress among Parents of Children with Autism. It would be very helpful if any of you could share my online survey with parents of children with Autism. It would only take around 6 minutes to complete this survey. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

I seek your kind assistance to approve this request as soon as possible. Here is a link of the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PVGpAfM6WEOJixY0T7R6rJLMH1CgVm64s6fNCli5asQ/viewform

Thank you for participating in this research. Please note that you must be a parent of at least one autistic child within the age of 3-18 years old to take part in this study. Before proceeding to the questionnaire at the back, please read and sign this consent form. If you have any questions to ask, you may contact the researcher via the contact details provided.

Description of the project:

You have been asked to take part in the study that aims to study the relationship of parent-child closeness, number of children and pet ownership with perceived stress level among parents with autistic children.

What will be done:

If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire that consists of demographic questions, Interpersonal Solidarity Scale and Perceived Stress Scale that would take less than 6 minutes to complete.

Risks or discomfort:

Your participation in this study is voluntary. The researcher does not anticipate any risk or discomfort besides minimal fatigue from this study. However, if you feel any discomfort, you may decide not to participate in the study. No adverse action will be taken against you for opting out. Feel free to contact the centre listed below for assistance if you do experience any psychological discomfort arising from this study:

Centre for Psychological and Counseling Services: 03-2096121

Benefits of this study:

Although there will be no direct benefit to you for taking part in this study, the researcher may learn more about the relationship of parent-child closeness, number of children and pet ownership with perceived stress level among parents with autistic children.

Confidentiality:

Your participation in this study is confidential and anonymous. None of the information will identify you by name. All records will only be handled by the researcher. All the data will be kept confidential. No personal information will be revealed to the public unless they are required by law to report information to city, state or federal authorities, or to give information to a court of law.

Decision to quit at any time:

The decision to take part in this study is voluntary. If you have decided to not take part in this research, you may quit at any time. Whatever your decision may be, no adverse action would be taken against you. If you wish to quit, simply inform the researcher.

Rights and Complaints:

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Review Board, Department of Psychology and Faculty of Behavioural Science at HELP University. If you have any problems or questions in relation to this study, you may discuss your complaints with the researcher supervisor or the chairperson of Ethics Review Board through the contact number or address stated below.

I understand that this research study has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Review Board, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural Science at HELP University. For research related problems or questions regarding participants’ rights, I can contact:

Chairperson
Ethics Review Board
Department of Psychology
Faculty of Behavioural Science
HELP University
BZ-2 Pusat Bandar Damansara
50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Phone: 03-27112000

If you have further inquiries regarding this study, please feel free to contact the researcher at the addressed stated below

Thank you.

Researcher – Sanjivan Thamby A/L Padmanapan jivan92@gmail.com
Research Supervisor – Alex Lui An Lieh luial@help.edu.my