Autism Disorder Clinical Trial
The evaluation of the program efficacy will be conducted via a randomized control study with 136 parents of children aged 3-8 who have autism. Investigators will test whether, compared to a content comparison group (CC), administration of the APT program over a 3-week intervention period (a) improves child behaviors, (b) increases perceived quality of life, (c) decreases parental stress, (d) increases positive parenting practices, and (e) increases parent knowledge of evidence-based support practices.
Participants. The sample will consist of parents who have at least one child diagnosed with
autism (aged 3 to 8) and have access to the Internet. From investigators experience in the
Phase I and similar studies, an attrition rate of less than 30% is expected. 180 parents (90
per condition) will ensure that the final sample will be no fewer than 136, with 68 in each
condition. Participation will be open to two-parent and single-parent families; only one
parent per family will be invited to participate in data collection. No parental age, gender,
or race exclusions will apply.
Procedure. All research will be conducted online. IRIS Ed has extensive experience conducting
online studies, and has developed successful recruitment, retention, and assessment
procedures. Screening, consent, and data collection will be conducted using Qualtrics (see
Human Subjects). Google+ Hangouts will be used to conduct the interactive APT training. The
CC training materials will be hosted on irisEd.com. Additional training materials will be
hosted on YouTube and SoundCloud. Participants will be recruited nationally using approaches
and resources that have yielded results in past online interventions.
The APT study will adhere to the following procedures: potential participants will be
directed to the recruitment website on Qualtrics and will be screened for eligibility on the
following inclusion criteria: (a) have a child aged 3-8 diagnosed with autism and living with
the parent, (b) have access to email and an Internet connection, and (c) have access to a
computer or other mobile device with a camera and a microphone. Eligible participants will be
given a brief explanation of the study and participation requirements, and will be asked to
complete an online informed consent (see Human Subjects). Participants will then complete the
pretest measures (see Table 3). Upon pretest completion, parents will be randomly assigned to
either the APT intervention condition or a content comparison (CC) group.
Content Comparison (CC). Parents assigned to the CC will be given access to a self-paced
online training program covering the same content as APT. The CC group will receive an online
program that delivers antecedent-behavior-consequence (ABC) multimedia instruction that is
targeted to parents. For this purpose, investigators and the curriculum designer will adapt a
program developed by IRIS entitled Teaching Routines to Children Who Have ASD, A Parent's
Guide to the ABC Method. The ABC Method demonstrated in a pre-posttest design that web-based
instruction in applied behavioral analytical (ABA) strategies, such as ABC, was effective in
helping parents teach children basic self-help skills, and allowed parents to apply this
method to a range of skills. The original ABC Method program consisted of nine multimedia
lessons (modeling videos, animated sequences, interactive exercises, downloadable summaries)
designed to help parents understand and use the antecedent-behavior-consequence concept
derived from ABA. Each lesson contained a 3 to 5 minute video that uses simple language,
realistic live action, and animation to illustrate a concept and to model how parents can
apply the concept as they teach a routine. Each lesson also contained an interactive exercise
and printed summary to guide parents through the steps of creating a teaching plan tailored
to the needs of their children.
To ensure that the CC group receives a dosage equivalent to that of the APT Intervention
group, the original program will be reformatted so that it is delivered in 3 rather than 9
lessons. This will require re-editing the original materials, creating new introductions to
the three lessons, and making corresponding changes in how the program is delivered by our
online Learning Management System. Investigators will also ensure that the reformatted
program possesses equivalent validity with the original program. Investigators and the
development team will achieve this by enlisting a small test group of parents in an iterative
process of review and refinement as the program is reformatted. Parents in the CC will have 3
weeks in which to access the program. Web metrics will allow investigators to track adherence
to program fidelity.
Treatment. Parents in the APT group will be presented with the dates and times of available
training groups and asked to select their preference. They will then receive an access code
for logging on to the APT web hub to view the training materials. Participants will also be
given access to the videoconferencing workshops, and will test to ensure they can access the
site and that their camera and microphone are operating. IRIS Ed technical staff will be
available to assist with any difficulties. Each week, for three weeks participants in the APT
condition will meet with their training group and the APT Parent Educator for 120 minutes of
instruction, discussion, and problem solving. They will also complete assigned homework,
including watching online video trainings.
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