Parent empowerment and coaching in early intervention: study protocol for a feasibility study.

Area of Science:

• Early intervention research
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) treatment
• Implementation science

Background:

• Parent-mediated early interventions (EI) improve outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Parent coaching, a key component of effective EI, is underutilized by community-based clinicians.
• Barriers to parent coaching implementation in EI settings are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and pilot test a toolkit of implementation strategies to increase early intervention clinicians' use of parent coaching for children with ASD.

Main Methods:

• Phase 1: Observed parent coaching by clinicians trained in Project ImPACT.
• Phase 2: Identified barriers and facilitators through surveys and interviews with clinicians, parents, and leaders.
• Phase 3: Collaborated with a community board to develop an implementation strategy toolkit.
• Phase 4: Pilot tested the toolkit's feasibility and effectiveness using a single-case design.

Main Results:

• The study will yield insights into current parent coaching practices and barriers.
• A community-developed toolkit of implementation strategies will be created.
• Preliminary data will assess the toolkit's potential to enhance clinician parent coaching.

Conclusions:

• Understanding EI clinician parent coaching is crucial for improving ASD interventions.
• The developed toolkit aims to address barriers and enhance parent coaching implementation.
• Pilot data will inform larger evaluations of strategies to support parent coaching for young children with ASD.