Dear Ms. Henderson,
We are writing in response to your recent article, “New study expands treatment options for parents of autistic children,” which highlighted the findings of a recent study conducted at Rutgers Center for Autism Research. In this study, parents participated in virtual training sessions designed to teach them how to use evidenced-based interventions with their own children with autism. We were pleased to read that parents who received the training showed significant improvements in their implementation of evidence-based intervention strategies with their child. We were also pleased to read that parents rated the virtual training as a 6.6 on a 7-point scale, suggesting that it was easy to use, comprehensive and effective.
The findings of this study are important for several reasons. For some families, accessing evidence-based interventions and supports may be difficult. In many parts of the world, there are few qualified providers to deliver such services. Therefore, access to training and support via telehealth is, as you explained in the article, important for parents who face economic and geographic barriers when searching for effective interventions for their child. Your article highlights how telehealth can be used to deliver training to parents in the implementation of intervention strategies designed to reduce challenging behavior while, at the same time, increasing communication and social skills. Articles like yours may encourage parents to be active members of their children’s treatment team and effective change agents in their home environment, even when they cannot access local expertise and support.
Our mission at Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) is to share information about effective, science-based treatments for people with autism. Our website includes a section devoted to supporting parents and families. Your readers may be particularly interested in articles on the importance and effectiveness of parent training, such as a study that examined the effects of parent training for improving social communication skills in children with autism. Children of the parents who had received the training had fewer and less severe ASD symptoms and better communication with their parents, indicating that a parent training program can produce long-term improvements on one of the core features of ASD. The second article reviews a study that found that early intervention to improve parent interaction and attention skills with infants at high-risk of ASD enhanced parent-child interactions and reduced autism-risk behaviors. In addition to these specific articles, we provide resources for parents and information to support parents in being informed and knowledgeable as they make treatment decisions for their children. We hope you will consider sharing these resources with your readers.
Sincerely,
Kate McKenna, M.Ed, MSEd, BCBA, LBA
Erin Leif, PhD, BCBA-D
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
