Brief Background of Parent Training in ASD

Background:  Parent Training (PT) is an evidenced-based intervention for children with disruptive behavior uncomplicated by ASD, but it has not been systematically tested in children with ASD. 

Objectives:  The purpose of this presentation is to illustrate the line of research conducted by our multisite network over the past decade. 

Methods:  We briefly describe the design and results of our feasibility trials and the randomized trial of medication alone versus medication plus parent training.

Results:  PT is acceptable to parents with attrition of 5 /33 (15%), session attendance rate of 88% in the first two feasibility trials. Therapists trained in the intervention for these pilot studies maintained over 90% fidelity to the manual. In a randomized trial of 124 school-age children, we showed that PT in combination with medication was superior to medication alone.  

Conclusions: Feasibility trials are prerequisites to large-scale randomized trials to show that the intervention is acceptable to parents and that trained therapists can reliably deliver the intervention.