Clinical Trial: Comparative Efficacy of Self-directed & Therapist-assisted Telehealth Parent Training Intervention for Children With ASD

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Comparative Efficacy of a Self-directed and Therapist-assisted Telehealth Parent Training Intervention for Children With ASD

Brief Summary: The specific objectives of this project are to conduct a randomized control trial to examine the effect of a novel, telehealth parent training intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ImPACT Online, on parent and child outcomes. The investigators will compare the benefits of the self-directed and therapist-assisted delivery formats, and examine moderators and mediators of treatment outcomes. The investigators anticipate that both the self-directed and therapist-assisted models of ImPACT Online will be effective methods for teaching parents to use evidence-based intervention strategies and for increasing parent self-efficacy compared to a web-based information control group. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups. One-third of participants will be in the therapist-assisted group; one-third will be in the self-directed group; and one-third will be in a web-based information control group.

Detailed Summary:

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a chronic and pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviors. Individuals with ASD often require intensive and comprehensive intervention across the life span. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of individuals with this diagnosis over the last two decades, with current prevalence rates as high as 1 in 68. However, there has not been corresponding growth in the availability of evidence-based intervention services, contributing to high levels of unmet service needs for individuals with ASD and their families. The vast majority of families of children with ASD report receiving substantially fewer hours of services than recommended by the National Research Council. Furthermore, levels of unmet service needs are even higher for families residing in rural and medically underserved communities. Thus, systematic research focused on developing and improving strategies for dissemination and implementation of evidence-based ASD services is a high priority, particularly for chronically underserved communities.

Parent training programs are one cost-effective and ecologically valid way to increase access to evidence-based ASD intervention. Training parents to provide intervention themselves can increase the number of intervention hours a child receives and improve child outcomes. A number of studies have demonstrated that parents can learn to use evidence-based intervention strategies with a high degree of fidelity and their children experience gains in language and social communication development, decreases in disruptive behavior, and greater generalization and maintenance of child skill. These benefits are recognized by parents, who report parent training to be the most effective practice for promoting their child's overall development. Par
Sponsor: Michigan State University

Current Primary Outcome:

  • ImPACT Online Fidelity Change Scale [ Time Frame: Month 1, Month 5, & Month 8 ]
    Parent Treatment Fidelity
  • Parent Sense of Competence Change Scale [ Time Frame: Month 1, Month 5, & Month 8 ]
    Parent Self-Efficacy
  • Mullen Scales of Early Learning Change Score [ Time Frame: Month 1 & Month 8 ]
    Child verbal language-Expressive language raw score
  • MacArthur-Bates Child Developmental Inventory Change Score [ Time Frame: Month 1 & Month 8 ]
    Child verbal language-# words understood and used
  • Parent-child Interaction Change [ Time Frame: Month 1 & Month 8 ]
    Child verbal language- mean length of utterance (MLU)
  • ImPACT Online electronic tracking system [ Time Frame: Month 5 ]
    Treatment adherence - % of program elements completed; number of logins
  • Intervention Log Change [ Time Frame: Month 1 & Month 8 ]
    Treatment adherence - # of hours per week of intervention use
  • Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales Change Score [ Time Frame: Month 1, Month 5, & Month 8 ]
    Adaptive behavior - communication, social functioning, daily living skills


Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome:

Original Secondary Outcome:

Information By: Michigan State University

Dates:
Date Received: March 14, 2016
Date Started: March 2015
Date Completion: July 2018
Last Updated: May 1, 2017
Last Verified: May 2017