Overcoming tensions between family-centered care and fidelity within Early Intervention implementation research.

This article discusses the challenge of balancing research requirements with family-centered care in early intervention programs. Early intervention services (birth to 3 years) traditionally focus on what families want and need. However, autism research studies often require strict following of treatment plans, which may conflict with family preferences. The authors suggest researchers need to better consider family values when studying autism interventions in these programs.

This commentary addresses tensions between maintaining intervention fidelity and implementing family-centered care in Early Intervention (EI) systems serving children birth to 3 years. The authors argue that autism research has focused on training providers to deliver evidence-based practices in EI systems while overlooking the fundamental principle of family-centered care, which honors family values and choices while strengthening family functioning. The commentary emphasizes that family-centered care may influence how interventions are delivered and calls for future research to evaluate both intervention delivery and family-centered care impacts simultaneously.

Practitioners should consider balancing intervention fidelity with family-centered care principles. Research studies in EI systems need to account for family preferences and values. Future implementation research should evaluate both intervention effectiveness and family-centered care outcomes to better serve families in real-world EI settings.

This is a commentary rather than an empirical study. No data, sample size, or methodology is reported. The findings represent expert opinion and theoretical discussion rather than research evidence. The lack of empirical data limits the strength of conclusions.

Early Intervention systems provide therapeutic services to families of young children birth to 3 years with developmental delays and are considered a natural access point to services for young children and their families. Research studies in the autism field have been interested in training providers to deliver evidence-based practices in Early Intervention systems to increase access to services for young children with an increased likelihood of being autistic. However, research has often overlooked that Early Intervention systems prioritize family-centered care, an approach to working with families that honors and respects their values and choices and that provides supports to strengthen family functioning. This commentary points out that family-centered care deserves greater attention in research being done in Early Intervention systems.

We describe how family-centered care may shape how interventions are delivered, and discuss directions for future research to evaluate the impact of family-centered care alongside intervention delivery.