IMPACT OF PARENT-IMPLEMENTED CONTINGENT IMITATION ON YOUNG CHILDREN AT-RISK FOR ASD

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by pervasive deficits in social orienting and social engagement. Research suggests that parent-implemented interventions using responsive interactive techniques may be effective to increase social engagement in very young children with ASD, although more work is needed to examine how best to support a responsive parental style in this exceptionally heterogeneous population. Emerging evidence indicates that contingent imitation (CI) may be uniquely effective to increase social engagement in children with ASD. This study used a multiple-baseline-across-participants single case design to examine how three caregivers learned to use CI at home with fidelity with their young children at risk for ASD, how use of CI was associated with changes in directive adult behaviors and to identify associated changes in child social engagement and eye gaze. Results demonstrate that caregivers quickly acquired the accurate use of this simple technique at home and sharply reduced their use of questions and directives during play sessions. Child social engagement levels and social eye gaze demonstrated positive changes across intervention and maintenance phases. Implications for research and early intervention practice are discussed

Parent training and joint engagement in young children with autism spectrum disorder

Children are diagnosed at increasingly earlier ages with autism spectrum disorder, characterized by diminished levels of social orienting and engagement. Parent-mediated interventions incorporating the use of responsive parent behaviors have shown promise for use with young children with autism spectrum disorder to increase a variety of social-communication behaviors. This study examined the manner in which parents acquired and used a set of responsive parenting techniques with their young children with fidelity and investigated the associations of fidelity use of these techniques with changes in child joint engagement outcomes. Although parents began the training phase demonstrating low levels of responsive parenting behaviors, they acquired and implemented a specific set of responsive parent techniques with their children with ongoing fidelity, and the use of these techniques was collaterally associated with increased levels of joint engagement in two of the three participant children. Implications for research and practice are discussed