Parenting for Autism, Language, And Communication Evaluation Study (PALACES): protocol for a pilot randomised...

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit behavioral difficulties, posing challenges for parents.
• Existing parenting programs, like the Incredible Years (IY), are effective but not specifically tailored for ASD.
• The IY Autistic Spectrum and Language Delays (IY-ASLD) program is a new adaptation designed for parents of children with ASD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of implementing the IY-ASLD parent program within child health services.
• To gather initial evidence on the effectiveness of the IY-ASLD program for children with ASD.
• To evaluate the economic costs associated with the IY-ASLD intervention.

Main Methods:

• A pragmatic, multicenter, pilot randomized controlled trial (PALACES trial).
• 72 parents of children with ASD (aged 3-8 years) were randomized to IY-ASLD or a wait-list control.
• Data collected at baseline, 6 months, with intervention group follow-up at 12 and 18 months.

Main Results:

• This section is for pre-results; specific findings are not yet available.
• The study is designed to provide initial evidence of effectiveness and economic data.
• Longer-term data will be collected to support the evaluation of this parenting program.

Conclusions:

• The IY-ASLD program represents a novel adaptation of established parenting interventions for ASD.
• This pilot trial will establish feasibility and provide preliminary data on effectiveness and costs.
• Results will inform the broader implementation of targeted parenting support for families of children with ASD.