Research summaries for autism therapy: parent training

definition of parent training: Educational program that teaches parents skills so that parents can help their children with autism. For example, parent training may teach parents some behavioral therapy techniques so that the parents can use them at home.

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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.

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Relationship development intervention (RDI) may be helpful as part of a larger autism treatment program.

The purpose of this article is to teach psychiatrists about RDI. RDI has been in use for ten years now and it is a major relationship-based tool for autism intervention. RDI consultants focus on family support and parent training. They also focus on helping any IQ weaknesses in the child. The author notes that while RDI has not been studied in outcome based research, the thought behind the therapy makes sense and therefore the therapy likely offers value to the child with autism and the family.

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Core autism symptoms such as social communication deficits may be improved by cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Social communication problems have proven hard to change through social skills training. This pilot study was designed to see the effect of a CBT program on parent-reported core autism symptoms. The study had 19 children (7 to 11 years old) with high-functioning autism who received 16 sessions of CBT. The CBT program focused on children’s emotion regulation, on-site social coaching, parent training, and school support. The authors found that parent-reported autism symptoms were lower in the CBT group than in the waitlist control group.

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Educating parents about behavioral sleep strategies may improve sleep habits in their children with autism.

This study looked at whether a parent education program about sleep habits might help parents to create better habits at home. Parents of 20 children with autism (3 to 10 years old) participated in the study. Parents attended three 2-hour workshops led by 2 physicians. Parents learned about setting good daytime, bedtime, and nighttime routines.... Read more...


Synonyms for parent training include: parent education, parental training
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