The Social ABCs caregiver‐mediated intervention for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: Feasibility, acceptability, and evidence of promise from a multisite study

Abstract

The Social ABCs is a parent‐mediated intervention for toddlers with suspected or confirmed autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We undertook a multi‐site pilot study to evaluate feasibility and acceptability, and to identify trends in child and parent behavior to inform future research using a larger sample and a rigorous research design. The program involved 12 weeks of parent coaching, followed by 12 weeks' implementation, and 3‐month follow‐up assessment for 20 parent‐toddler dyads (age range: 12–32 months). Parents successfully learned the techniques and rated the intervention as highly acceptable. Paired samples t‐tests revealed significant gains in children's functional communication (responsivity, initiations), and language gains (age‐equivalents on standardized measures) commensurate with typical developmental rates. Significant increases in shared smiling and social orienting also emerged, but were attenuated at follow‐up. Parents' fidelity was positively associated with child responsivity. Training parents as mediators is a feasible and highly acceptable approach that provides a potentially cost‐effective opportunity for intensive intervention at a very young age at the first signs of ASD risk. Child and parent gains in several key variables demonstrate the promise of this intervention. Autism Res 2016, 9: 899–912. © 2015 The Authors Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Autism Research

Systematic review of factors that may influence the outcomes and generalizability of parent‐mediated interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorder

“…Table 3 presents a list of 45 factors pertaining to children and parents examined across studies, which are categorized descriptively as broad (e.g., age, nonverbal ability, ASD severity), fine-grained (e.g., joint attention, imitation), and contextual (e.g., service access during trials, intervention hours) factors. Brian et al [2016] × 10 × 27,28 Brian et al [2017] × 2 × 10 × 27,28 Byford et al [2015] × 7 × 11 × 24 × 26 × 27 × 37 Carter et al [2011] × 28 Casenhiser et al [2013] × 28, 29 Chiang et al [2016] ✓ 12 × 13 × 27,28 Cook et al [2017] × 1 × 23 ✓ 30 × 31 Green et al [2010] × 7 × 11 × 24 × 26 × 27 Gulsrud et al [2016] × 33 Hardan et al [2015] ✓ 3 ✓ 14 ✓ 15 × 27,28 × 34 Harrop et al [2017] × 33 Ingersoll et al [2016] × 37 Kasari et al [2015] × 33 Kasari et al [2014] ✓ 11 × 28 Kasari et al [2010] × 28 Kuravackel et al [2017] × Note. ✓ = inclusion; × = exclusion.…”

Comparing the 1‐year impact of preschool autism intervention programs in two Canadian provinces

“…Yet as we have demonstrated here, these interventions are implemented in the context of complex systems of care that can vary widely across jurisdictions, even between adjacent, demographically similar provinces. That assumptions about program effectiveness cannot be divorced from the contexts in which the programs are implemented is central to the field of implementation science [Damschroder et al, 2009], and the ASD literature has addressed this issue in the abstract [e.g., Dingfelder & Mandell, 2011] as well as in studies of program feasibility and acceptability [Brian, Smith, Zwaigenbaum, Roberts, & Bryson, 2015;Pickard, Wainer, Bailey, & Ingersoll, 2016]. The present study demonstrates starkly the profound impact of context.…”

Feasibility of Training Early Childhood Educators in a Community Child Care Setting Using a Caregiver-mediated Intervention for Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…We previously developed and evaluated a caregiver-mediated intervention for toddlers with suspected or confirmed ASD (the Social ABCs; Brian, et al, 2016;Brian, et al, under revision). This intervention incorporates the principles and procedures of ABA, represented in the naturalistic context of PRT (Koegel & Koegel, 2006;Koegel, Johnson, & Dawson, 1989), and integrated within a responsive parenting framework (Landry, Smith, & Swank, 2006).…”