Skip to main content

Training and Supporting Caregivers in Evidence-Based Practices

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Early Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders

Part of the book series: Autism and Child Psychopathology Series ((ACPS))

  • 9554 Accesses

Abstract

Given the increase in prevalence rates of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and evidence that intensive early intervention is important in prognosis, there is an increased need for services and interventions for children with ASD. However, given the limited resources in many areas, there has been increased emphasis placed on providing evidence-based parent training and parent support to enhance outcomes and quality of life. The purpose of this paper is to review the research supporting parent training programs and the variety of methods currently available. Factors related to parental stress and mental health are discussed, along with parent and family factors to consider when choosing a parent training program. Limitations to the existing research and areas for future consideration are also presented.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 349.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anan, R. M., Warner, L. J., McGillivary, J. E., Chong, I. M., & Hines, S. J. (2008). Group intensive family training (GIFT) for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders. Behavioral Interventions, 23(3), 165–180. doi:10.1002/bin.262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Azrin, N. H., & Foxx, R. M. (1971). A rapid method of toilet training in the institutionalized retarded. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 4, 89–99.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Baharav, E., & Reiser, C. (2010). Using telepractice in parent training in early autism. Telemedicine and e-HEALTH, 16(6), 727–731.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ben Chaabane, D. B., Alber-Morgan, S. R., & DeBar, R. M. (2009). The effects of parent-implemented PECS training on improvisation of mands by children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42(3), 671–677. doi:10.1901/jaba.2009.42-671.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blackledge, J. T., & Hayes, S. C. (2006). Using acceptance and commitment training in the support of parents of children diagnosed with autism. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 28(1), 1–18. doi:10.1300/J019v28n01_01.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cavkaytar, A., & Pollard, E. (2009). Effectiveness of a parent and therapist collaboration program (PTCP) for teaching self-care and domestic skills in individuals with autism. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 44(3), 381–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coolican, J., Smith, I. M., & Bryson, S. E. (2010). Brief parent training in pivotal response treatment for preschoolers with autism [Evaluation Studies Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t]. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 51(12), 1321–1330. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02326.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, G., & Osterling, J. (1997). Early intervention in autism. In M. J. Guralnick (Ed.), The effectiveness of early intervention (pp. 307–326). Baltimore: Brookes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diggle, T., McConachie, H. R., & Randle, V.-R. L. (2002). Parent-mediated early intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dillenburger, K., Keenan, M., Gallagher, S., & McElhinney, M. (2004). Parent education and home-based behaviour analytic intervention: An examination of parents’ perceptions of outcome. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 29(2), 119–130. doi:10.1080/13668250410001709476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dishion, T. J., & Patterson, G. R. (1992). Age effects in parent training outcome. Behavior Therapy, 23, 719–729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elder, J. H., Donaldson, S. O., Kairalla, J., Valcante, G., Bendixen, R., Ferdig, R., & Serrano, M. (2011). In-Home training for fathers of children with autism: A follow up study and evaluation of four individual training components. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 20, 263–271.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Elder, J. H., Valcante, G., Won, D., & Zylis, R. (2003). Effects of in-hone training for culturally diverse fathers of children with autism. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 24, 273–295. doi:10.1080/01612840390160793.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flippin, M., & Crais, E. R. (2011). The need for more effective father involvement in early autism intervention. Journal of Early Intervention, 33(1), 24–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frankel, F., Myatt, R., Sugar, C., Whitham, C., Gorospe, C. M., & Laugeson, E. (2010). A randomized controlled study of parent-assisted Children’s Friendship Training with children having autism spectrum disorders [Randomized Controlled Trial Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural]. Journal of Autism And Developmental Disorders, 40(7), 827–842. doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0932-z.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gutstein, S. E. (2009). Empowering families through relationship development intervention: An important part of the biopsychsocial management of autism spectrum disorders. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 21(3), 174–182.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gutstein, S. E., Burgess, A. F., & Montfort, K. (2007). Evaluation of the relationship development intervention program. Autism: the international journal of research and practice, 11(5), 397–411. doi:10.1177/1362361307079603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, S. L. (1986). Parents as teachers: A four to seven year follow-up of parents of children with autism. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 8(4), 39–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knapp, P. A., & Deluty, R. H. (1989). Relative effectiveness of two behavioral parent training programs. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 18, 314–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koegel, R. L., Schreibman, L., Good, A., Cernigna, L., Murphy, C., & Koegel, L. K. (1989). How to teach pivotal behaviors to children with autism: A training manual. Santa Barbara. California: University of California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koegel, R. L., Simon, J. B., & Koegel, L. K. (2002). Parent education of families of children with autism living in geographically distant areas. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, 4(2), 88–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroeger, K., & Sorensen, R. (2010). A parent training model for toilet training children with autism. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research: JIDR, 54(6), 556–567. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01286.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laski, K. E., Charlop, M. H., & Schreibman, L. (1988). Training parents to use the natural language paradigm to increase their autistic children’s speech. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21(4), 391–400.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Laugeson, E. A., Frankel, F., Mogil, C., & Dillon, A. R. (2009). Parent-assisted social skills training to improve friendships in teens with autism spectrum disorders [Clinical Trial Comparative Study Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural]. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(4), 596–606. doi:10.1007/s10803-008-0664-5

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerman, D. C., Swiezy, N. A., Perkins-Parks, S., & Roane, H. S. (2000). Skill acquisition in parents of children with developmental disabilities: Interaction between skill type and instructional format. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 21, 183–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovaas, O. I., Koegel, R. L., Simmons, J. Q., & Long, J. S. (1973). Some generalization and follow-up measures on autistic children in behavior therapy. Journal of Applied Behavior Analyses, 6, 131–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matson, J. L., Mahan, S., & LoVullo, S. V. (2009). Parent training: A review of methods for children with developmental disabilities [Review]. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 30(5), 961–968. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.01.009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matson, M. L., Mahan, S., & Matson, J. L. (2009). Parent training: A review of methods for children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 3(4), 868–875. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2009.02.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McConachie, H., & Diggle, T. (2007). Parent implemented early intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review [Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t Review]. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 13(1), 120–129. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2753.2006.00674.x

    Google Scholar 

  • Minjarez, M. B., Williams, S. E., Mercier, E. M., & Hardan, A. Y. (2011). Pivotal response group treatment program for parents of children with autism [Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t]. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(1), 92–101. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1027-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mudford, O. C., Martin, N. T., Eikeseth, S., & Bibby, P. (2001). Parent-managed behavioral treatment for preschool children with autism: Some characteristics of UK programs. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 22, 173–182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Najdowski, A. C., Wallace, M. D., Reagon, K., Penrod, B., Higbee, T. S., & Tarbox, J. (2010). Utilizing a home-based parent training approach in the treatment of food selectivity. Behavioral Interventions, 25(2), 89–107. doi:10.1002/bin.298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oosterling, I., Visser, J., Swinkels, S., Rommelse, N., Donders, R., Woudenberg, T., & Buitelaar, J. (2010). Randomized controlled trial of the focus parent training for toddlers with autism: 1-year outcome [Randomized Controlled Trial Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t]. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(12), 1447–1458. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1004-0

    Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, L. A., McHugh, L., Saunders, J., & Reed, P. (2008). Parenting stress reduces the effectiveness of early teaching interventions for autistic spectrum disorders [Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t]. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(6), 1092–1103. doi:10.1007/s10803-007-0497-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, A., & Condillac, R. A. (2010). The TRE-ADD presschool parent training program: Program evaluation of an innovative service delivery model. Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 16(2), 8–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pillay, M., Alderson-Day, B., Wright, B., Williams, C., & Urwin, B. (2011). Autism Spectrum Conditions-enhancing Nurture and Development (ASCEND): An evaluation of intervention support groups for parents. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 16(1), 5–20. doi:10.1177/1359104509340945.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prelock, P. A., Calhoun, J., Morris, H., & Platt, G. (2011). Supporting parents to facilitate communication and joint attention in their young children with autism spectrum disorders. Topics in Language Disorders, 31(3), 210–234. doi:10.1097/TLD.0b013e318227bd3f.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raj, A., & Salagame, K. (2010). Effect of sensitized coaching on self-efficacy of parents of children with autsm. Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 16(2), 44–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reagon, K. A., & Higbee, T. S. (2009). Parent-implemented script fading to promote play-based verbal initiations in children with autism [Clinical Trial]. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42(3), 659–664. doi:10.1901/jaba.2009.42-659.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Reed, H. E., McGrew, S. G., Artibee, K., Surdkya, K., Goldman, S. E., Frank, K., & Malow, B. A. (2009). Parent-based sleep education workshops in autism [Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural]. Journal of Child Neurology, 24(8), 936–945. doi:10.1177/0883073808331348.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Robbins, F. R., Dunlap, G., & Plienis, A. J. (1991). Family characteristics, family training, and the progress of young children with autism. Journal of Early Intervention, 15(2), 173–184. doi:10.1177/105381519101500206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, J., Williams, K., Carter, M., Evans, D., Parmenter, T., Silove, N., & Warren, A. (2011). A randomised controlled trial of two early intervention programs for young children with autism: Centre-based with parent program and home-based. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5(4), 1553–1566. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2011.03.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rocha, M. L., Schreibman, L., & Stahmer, A. C. (2007). Effectiveness of training parents to teach joint attention in children autism. Journal of Early Intervention, 29(2), 154–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santarelli, G., Koegel, R. L., Casas, M. J., & Koegel, L. K. (2001). Culturally diverse families participating in behavior therapy parent education programs for children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, 3(2), 120–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, T., Schmidt, C. T., & Stichter, J. P. (2011). A review of parent education programs for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 26(2), 96–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seung, H. K., Ashwell, S., Elder, J. H., & Valcante, G. (2006). Verbal communication outcomes in children with autism after in-home father training [Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural]. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 50(2), 139–150. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2005.00767.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singer, G. H., Ethridge, B. L., & Aldana, S. I. (2007). Primary and secondary effects of parenting and stress management interventions for parents of children with developmental disabilities: A meta-analysis [Comparative Study Meta-Analysis]. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 13(4), 357–369. doi:10.1002/mrdd.20175.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., Winton, A. S., Fisher, B. C., Wahler, R. G., McAleavey, Singh, J. & Sabaawi, M. (2006). Mindful parenting decreases aggression, noncompliance, and self-injury in children with autism. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14, 169–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T., Buch, G. A., & Gamby, T. E. (2000). Parent-directed, intensive early intervention for children with pervasive developmental disorder. Research in developmental disabilities, 21(4), 297–309.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sofronoff, K., & Farbotko, M. (2002). The effectiveness of parent management training to increase self-efficacy in parents of children with asperger syndrome. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 6(3), 271–286. doi:10.1177/1362361302006003005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stahmer, A., & Gist, K. (2001). The effects of an accelerated parent education program on technique mastery and child outcome. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, 3(2), 75–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, A. M. (2011). A strength-based approach to parent education for children with autism. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, 13(3), 178–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tonge, B., Brereton, A., Kiomall, M., Mackinnon, A., King, N., & Rinehart, N. (2006). Effects of parental mental health of an education and skills training program for parents of young children with autism: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45(5), 561–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, P. (2008). Effects of a parent training program on the interactive skills of parents of children with autism in China. Journal of Policy and Practice In Intellectual Disabilities, 5(2), 96–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittingham, K., Sofronoff, K., Sheffield, J., & Sanders, M. (2009a). Do parental attributions affect treatment outcome in a parenting program? An exploration of the effects of parental attributions in an RCT of stepping stones triple P for the ASD population. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 3(1), 129–144. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2008.05.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittingham, K., Sofronoff, K., Sheffield, J., & Sanders, M. R. (2009b). Stepping stones triple P: An RCT of a parenting program with parents of a child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder [Randomized Controlled Trial Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t]. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 37(4), 469–480. doi:10.1007/s10802-008-9285-x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zingale, M., Belfiore, G., Mongelli, V., Trubia, G., & Buono, S. (2008). Orgainization of a family training service pertaining to intellectual disabilities. Journal of Policy and Practice In Intellectual Disabilities, 5(1), 69–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rebecca C. Shaffer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Shaffer, R., Minshawi, N. (2014). Training and Supporting Caregivers in Evidence-Based Practices. In: Tarbox, J., Dixon, D., Sturmey, P., Matson, J. (eds) Handbook of Early Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0401-3_28

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics