Tele-Assisted Behavioral Intervention for Families with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Control Trial
Open accessAbstract
Background: Telehealth is useful for both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis and treatment, but studies with a direct comparison between teletherapy and traditional in-person therapy are limited. Methods: This randomized control trial—ISRCTN (International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number) primary clinical trial registry ID ISRCTN15312724—was aimed at comparing the effect of a tele-assisted and in-person intervention based on a behavioral intervention protocol for families with children affected by ASDs. Forty-two parents with children with autism (30 months to 10 years old) were randomly assigned to 12 sessions of an applied behavioral analysis (ABA) intervention implemented in an individual and group setting, either with or without the inclusion of tele-assistance. Pre- and postintervention assessments were conducted using the Home Situation Questionnaire (HSQ-ASD) and the Parental Stress Index (PSI/SF). Results: Substantial improvements in the perception and management of children’s behavior by parents, as well as in the influence of a reduction in parent stress levels on said children’s behavior through the use of a tele-assisted intervention, were obtained. Conclusions: This randomized controlled trial demonstrates the evidence-based potential for telehealth to improve treatment of ASDs.
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This result may be dependent on the characteristics of the group because a group-based behavioral approach might not be useful for all parents with respect to a behavioral approach tailored to the individual needs.
“This result may be dependent on the characteristics of the group because a group-based behavioral approach might not be useful for all parents with respect to a behavioral approach tailored to the individual needs [55].”
From The effect of acceptance and commitment therapy for improving psychological well‐being in parents of individuals with autism spectrum disorders: A randomized controlled trial (2021) · cites this paper as [55]
Section 2.1 says individual ABA protocols allow better personalization to specific needs, and the Discussion reports that many parents had difficulty personalizing techniques learned in courses. The paper does not establish that a group-based approach is unsuitable for some parents or that the cited result depends on the group's characteristics; its trial compared tele-assisted with in-person one-to-one coaching, not group with individualized treatment. (LLM, conf=0.82)
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- Authors
- Marino, F., Chilà, P., Failla, C., Crimi, I., Minutoli, R., Puglisi, A., Arnao, A. A., Tartarisco, G., Ruta, L., Vagni, D., & Pioggia, G.
- Affiliations
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Pioggia, Giovanni
- ORCID
- Venue
- Brain Sciences
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2020-09-18
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 649
- ISSN
- 2076-3425 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7563357
- OpenAlex
- W3087681324
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 4.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Brain Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Project SIRENA - Sistemi Innovativi di Ricerca E-health per la Neuro-Abilitazione, Soc. Coop. Soc. Occupazione e Solidarietà (Prot. CNR-IRIB n. 2346/2019 - 20/12/2019)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, telemedicine, applied behavior analysis, behavioral interventions, parent training, parental stress, children with autism, family intervention
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