News and Knowledge

In 2013, OAR’s Board of Directors authorized funding for seven new applied autism research studies in 2014. This additional $210,000 in research grants brought the total funds awarded by OAR to over $3 million since its first grants in January 2003. This review is the second in a series of seven that will appear in The OARacle over the next few months.

Can parents effectively train other parents to effectively deliver an evidence-based autism intervention?  That is the question posed by OAR-funded researchers, Dorothea Lerman, Ph.D., and Jennifer Fritz, Ph.D., at the University of Houston, Clear Lake. Their study is set to begin in August 2014.

As parents are well aware, challenging behaviors left untreated can wreak havoc on family life and on the future of their children. An intervention known as functional communication training (FCT) has been proven to reduce those behaviors. Even better, caregivers can implement FCT at home.

Currently, however, the number of trained caregivers is limited, because caregivers must be trained by professionals. This training may not be available to everyone, and the costs can be prohibitive for many families. Those who do not speak English as their first language may not have access to training at all.

That’s where this study, “Improving Access to Care for Challenging Behavior Using a Parent-to-Parent Mentoring Approach,” comes in. Using behavioral skills training, consisting of written and verbal instructions, video modeling, role play with feedback, and practice with the child with feedback, parent participants will be trained to use FCT. The experimenters will teach the first group of parents how to train other parents.

Assuming parents can be effectively trained in FCT by other parents, the researchers envision three potential models that could be drawn from the outcomes of this study. The first is a mentoring model in which parents who have received training would mentor additional parents. Another model would contract with parent mentors to provide training and support to other parents at a reduced cost compared to training by professionals. A third possible model would be based on school districts or other government agencies hiring professionals to train and support parent mentors, who would train other parents in evidence-based interventions for children with autism.

To evaluate the outcomes, the researchers will collect direct observation data on parent and child behavior in the home setting repeatedly prior to, during, and following the parent FCT and mentor training. Data also will be collected on parent trainee, parent mentor, and child behavior during all appointments in the clinic.

If effective, this method of training has the potential to expand clinical service availability for families in rural communities and low-income neighborhoods, and for cultural groups who face barriers (e.g. language) to receiving services for their children’s challenging behavior.