Addressing Systemic Health Disparities in Early Identification and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): ABCD Project

NCT02457169 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: UMassBoston1R01MH104400-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 31
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The intervention under examination is designed to promote parents' school engagement following the transition from Early Intervention (EI) to preschool for parents of young children who were diagnosed with ASD through our screening and assessment protocol. The brief intervention employs principles of motivational interviewing to address not only the particular child characteristics and needs associated with ASD but also the unique, system-related challenges of navigating the special education system and advocating for appropriate services. Motivational interventions with parents are designed to elicit parents' specific, action-oriented goals for themselves and their children, enhancing motivation to pursue change, and addressing and resolving obstacles or sources of ambivalence. By identifying and capitalizing on parents' strengths, empowering parents to develop specific goals, and improving parents' readiness to engage actively with their children's school, teacher, and educational team, we expect that this brief intervention will lead to higher levels of parental school involvement, higher special education engagement, and closer and more productive parent teacher relationships.

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• parental school involvement

  parent report on the school involvement subscale of the Parent-Teacher Involvement Scale

  3 months post-intervention

• parent-teacher relationship quality

  parent-report on the relationship subscale of the Parent-Teacher Involvement Scale

  3 months post-intervention

• parent-special education engagement

  parent report on the Parent-Special Education Engagement Scale

  3 months post-intervention

Study Arms (2)

Parent Engagement Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

This group of parents will receive the brief, 2-4 hour intervention which will utilize motivational interviewing principles to enhance parents' preschool engagement as their children transition from Early Intervention to preschool.

Behavioral: Parent Preschool Engagement intervention

Attention Control

OTHER

Waitlist Control Group: This group will receive the brief, 2-4 hour intervention which will utilize motivational interviewing principles to enhance parents' preschool engagement as their children transition from Early Intervention to preschool after a 3 month delay.

Behavioral: Attention Control

Interventions

Parent Preschool Engagement intervention BEHAVIORAL

This 1-2 session intervention (2-4 hours total) will involve one-on-one session(s) for parents whose children (all of whom have received a diagnosis of ASD through our study) are turning 3 and therefore transitioning from the Early Intervention system to the public school special education system. The intervention will utilize motivational interviewing (MI) principles to equip parents with the skills, knowledge, and clarity of goals necessary to collaborate effectively with school special education staff and teachers, to advocate for their children's needs, and to be empowered to navigate the special education system.

Parent Engagement Intervention group

Attention Control BEHAVIORAL

The attention control condition is parallel in format (one-on-one between parent with interventionist) and intensity (1-2 sessions, or 2-4 hours total). It involves open-ended interviews with parents about their child's development and plans for school.

Attention Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 14 Months - 3 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• whose children are turning 3 and transitioning out of Early Intervention services.

You may not qualify if:

• have a previous diagnosis of ASD outside of our study OR
• Don't have a parent/guardian who speak/understand sufficient English or Spanish to complete study materials OR
• Don't qualify for Early Intervention services

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Massachusetts, Boston: lead
• Tufts Medical Center: collaborator
• Northeastern University: collaborator
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): collaborator

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Alice S Carter, PhD

  University of Massachusetts, Boston

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 24, 2015
• First Posted: May 29, 2015
• Study Start: September 1, 2014
• Primary Completion: April 1, 2018
• Study Completion: April 1, 2018
• Last Updated: December 4, 2018

Record last verified: 2018-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share