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Development and Acceptability of a New Program for Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Online Parent Training in Early Behavioral Intervention

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Abstract

Early intervention with parent participation is important for facilitating skill development in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, many barriers delay or prohibit families from accessing care. We describe the development and acceptability of a novel, comprehensive, self-directed online program for caregivers of children with ASD. Program effectiveness will be presented in a subsequent manuscript. The program is based on behavioral, naturalistic, and developmental principles, and teaches caregivers to use evidence-based interventions to teach developmentally appropriate targets. Approximately two-thirds of enrolled parents completed all 14 modules; barriers to completion for the additional families are described. Parents reported that the program was clear, enjoyable, and useful in teaching them interventions and in improving their children’s skills and behavior.

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Acknowledgments

The authors extend our deep appreciation to the children and families who participated in the filming of the parent-training program material and in the pilot trial of this program. We also thank Dr. Leandra Berry, Dr. Robin Kochel, Dr. Jamie Hughes-Lika, Ms. My-Linh Luu, Dr. Kelli Ahmed, Ms. Brenda Obe, Ms. Abigail Maruca, Mr. Eric Cutler, Ms. Darlene Burckson, Ms. Donna Harvey, Ms. Susan Nicholson, Ms. Blue Favreau, and Ms. Kathy Deschene for their assistance with data collection. We express special gratitude to Dr. Andy Bondy for sharing Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) materials and videos. We additionally thank the Sterling Nursery School. The authors also acknowledge the following funding sources: the National Institute of Mental Health R34 “Teaching Skills to Toddlers: a Program for Caregivers” R34MH091208 (D. Fein, PI) for development of the parent training material, and a dissertation research funding award from the Society for Research in Child Development Student and Early Career Council (Y. Dai, Recipient).

Funding

This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health R34 “Teaching Skills to Toddlers: a Program for Caregivers” R34MH091208 (D. Fein, PI) for development of the parent training material and by the Society for Research in Child Development Student and Early Career Council (SECC) Dissertation Research Funding Award (Y. Dai, Recipient).

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Contributions

YGD participated in conception of the study design, collection of data, analysis of qualitative data, performance of statistical analyses, interpretation of the data, and drafting of the manuscript; RPT participated in data collection, analysis of qualitative data, and interpretation of the data; LB, MSH, MLB, TD-M, and DAF participated in the creation of the parent-training program, conception of the study design, interpretation of the data, and revising the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yael G. Dai.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants in the study.

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Dai, Y.G., Thomas, R.P., Brennan, L. et al. Development and Acceptability of a New Program for Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Online Parent Training in Early Behavioral Intervention. J Autism Dev Disord 51, 4166–4185 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04863-z

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