Parent training may be one way to decrease the time and cost of therapy for a child with autism.

This review article describes methods that can be used to train parents of children with autism to act as therapists for their children. While there are many cases of parent training in autism research, there are few autism treatment plans that are designed around using parents. Research shows that parents are able to gain skills in therapies such as applied behavior analysis (ABA). The authors suggest that a lifelong treatment model of parent training may be prudent even for those children who respond well to early intensive behavioral treatments.