Effects of Parent-Implemented Interventions on Outcomes of Children with Autism: A Meta-Analysis.

This large review looked at programs where parents learn to support their autistic children at home. The research found these parent-led programs work well across different areas: helping children's social skills, communication, and reducing challenging behaviors. The benefits were seen regardless of the child's age or specific type of program used. This suggests that when parents are trained to use these strategies, it can make a real difference for their autistic children in multiple areas of development.

This meta-analysis examined 51 studies on parent-implemented interventions (PIIs) for children with autism spectrum disorder. The analysis found moderately strong overall benefits (effect size g = 0.553), with studies having lower research bias showing slightly smaller but still meaningful effects (g = 0.47). PIIs demonstrated consistent positive outcomes across multiple domains: positive behavior/social skills (g = 0.603), language/communication (g = 0.545), maladaptive behavior reduction (g = 0.519), and adaptive behavior/life skills (g = 0.239). The effectiveness of PIIs was consistent across various study characteristics, intervention types, and participant demographics, suggesting broad applicability.

Parent-implemented interventions should be considered as evidence-based treatment options for autistic children across various contexts. The consistent effectiveness across different circumstances supports the broad implementation of parent training programs. Clinicians can confidently recommend PIIs while acknowledging that effects may be more modest for adaptive behavior skills compared to social and communication outcomes.

The abstract does not specify the total sample size across included studies or provide details about study heterogeneity. Information about long-term follow-up effects, specific intervention components, or cost-effectiveness is not reported. The smaller effect size for adaptive behavior/life skills suggests variable effectiveness across outcome domains.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been shown to benefit from parent-implemented interventions (PIIs). This meta-analysis improved on prior reviews of PIIs by evaluating RCTs and multiple potential moderators, including indicators of research quality. Fifty-one effect sizes averaged moderately strong overall benefits of PIIs (g = 0.553), with studies having lower risk of research bias yielding lower estimates (g = 0.47). Parent and observer ratings yielded similar averaged estimates for positive behavior/social skills (g = 0.603), language/communication (g = 0.545), maladaptive behavior (g = 0.519), and to a lesser extent, adaptive behavior/life skills (g = 0.239).

No other study, intervention, or participant characteristic moderated outcomes. PIIs with children with ASD tend to be effective across a variety of circumstances.