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A Parent-Mediated Intervention to Increase Responsive Parental Behaviors and Child Communication in Children with ASD: A Randomized Clinical Trial

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Abstract

Longitudinal research has demonstrated that responsive parental behaviors reliably predict subsequent language gains in children with autism spectrum disorder. To investigate the underlying causal mechanisms, we conducted a randomized clinical trial of an experimental intervention (Focused Playtime Intervention, FPI) that aims to enhance responsive parental communication (N = 70). Results showed a significant treatment effect of FPI on responsive parental behaviors. Findings also revealed a conditional effect of FPI on children’s expressive language outcomes at 12-month follow up, suggesting that children with baseline language skills below 12 months (n = 24) are most likely to benefit from FPI. Parents of children with more advanced language skills may require intervention strategies that go beyond FPI’s focus on responsive communication.

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Acknowledgments

Preparation of this article was supported by CPEA Grant HD35470 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the M.I.N.D. Institute Research Program, and a PSC-CUNY grant. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the parents and children who participated in this study. We also wish to thank the researchers who contributed to this project over the years, especially Agata Rozga, Alma Lopez-Singh, Amanda Chinchilla, Angeline Dijamco DeLaurentis, Cindy Huang, Cynthia Zierhut, Cristina Fernandez, Elia Jimenez, James Earhart, Jenna Mendelson, Joanna Mussey, Laura Espana, Lisa Travis, Liz Lizaola, Lovella Gomez, Michael Bono, Mithi del Rosario, Nuri Reyes, Sarah Clavell, Stephanie Marshall, Stephany Cox, and Tamara Daley. Special Thanks to Paul Yoder and David MacKinnon for their invaluable support and feedback on drafts of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA

    Michael Siller, Ted Hutman & Marian Sigman

  2. Psychology Department, Hunter College of The City University of New York, 695 Park Ave, RM 611 HN, New York, NY, 10065-5024, USA

    Michael Siller

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  1. Michael Siller
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Correspondence to Michael Siller.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

10803_2012_1584_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

#1: Our special play time: Finding ways to improve play time with my young child with autism: Illustrated workbook for parents (unpublished document). Supplementary material 1 (PDF 3875 kb)

10803_2012_1584_MOESM2_ESM.pdf

#2: Our special play time: Finding ways to improve play time with my young child with autism: Treatment manual (unpublished manuscript). Supplementary material 2 (PDF 2529 kb)

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Siller, M., Hutman, T. & Sigman, M. A Parent-Mediated Intervention to Increase Responsive Parental Behaviors and Child Communication in Children with ASD: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 540–555 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1584-y

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