Addressing Systemic Health Disparities in Early Identification and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): ABCD Project

NCT ID: NCT02457169

Last Updated: 2018-12-04

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 31 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2014-09-30
• Study Completion Date: 2018-04-30

Brief Summary

The intervention under examination is designed to promote parents' school engagement following the transition from Early Intervention (EI) to preschool for parents of young children who were diagnosed with ASD through our screening and assessment protocol. The brief intervention employs principles of motivational interviewing to address not only the particular child characteristics and needs associated with ASD but also the unique, system-related challenges of navigating the special education system and advocating for appropriate services. Motivational interventions with parents are designed to elicit parents' specific, action-oriented goals for themselves and their children, enhancing motivation to pursue change, and addressing and resolving obstacles or sources of ambivalence.

By identifying and capitalizing on parents' strengths, empowering parents to develop specific goals, and improving parents' readiness to engage actively with their children's school, teacher, and educational team, we expect that this brief intervention will lead to higher levels of parental school involvement, higher special education engagement, and closer and more productive parent teacher relationships.

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Parent Engagement Intervention group

This group of parents will receive the brief, 2-4 hour intervention which will utilize motivational interviewing principles to enhance parents' preschool engagement as their children transition from Early Intervention to preschool.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Parent Preschool Engagement intervention

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

This 1-2 session intervention (2-4 hours total) will involve one-on-one session(s) for parents whose children (all of whom have received a diagnosis of ASD through our study) are turning 3 and therefore transitioning from the Early Intervention system to the public school special education system. The intervention will utilize motivational interviewing (MI) principles to equip parents with the skills, knowledge, and clarity of goals necessary to collaborate effectively with school special education staff and teachers, to advocate for their children's needs, and to be empowered to navigate the special education system.

Attention Control

Waitlist Control Group: This group will receive the brief, 2-4 hour intervention which will utilize motivational interviewing principles to enhance parents' preschool engagement as their children transition from Early Intervention to preschool after a 3 month delay.

Group Type: OTHER

Attention Control

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The attention control condition is parallel in format (one-on-one between parent with interventionist) and intensity (1-2 sessions, or 2-4 hours total). It involves open-ended interviews with parents about their child's development and plans for school.

Interventions

Parent Preschool Engagement intervention

This 1-2 session intervention (2-4 hours total) will involve one-on-one session(s) for parents whose children (all of whom have received a diagnosis of ASD through our study) are turning 3 and therefore transitioning from the Early Intervention system to the public school special education system. The intervention will utilize motivational interviewing (MI) principles to equip parents with the skills, knowledge, and clarity of goals necessary to collaborate effectively with school special education staff and teachers, to advocate for their children's needs, and to be empowered to navigate the special education system.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Attention Control

The attention control condition is parallel in format (one-on-one between parent with interventionist) and intensity (1-2 sessions, or 2-4 hours total). It involves open-ended interviews with parents about their child's development and plans for school.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• whose children are turning 3 and transitioning out of Early Intervention services.

Exclusion Criteria

• have a previous diagnosis of ASD outside of our study OR
• Don't have a parent/guardian who speak/understand sufficient English or Spanish to complete study materials OR
• Don't qualify for Early Intervention services

• Minimum Eligible Age: 14 Months
• Maximum Eligible Age: 3 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Tufts Medical Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Northeastern University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Massachusetts, Boston

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Abbey Eisenhower

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Alice S Carter, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Massachusetts, Boston

Other Identifiers

1R01MH104400-01

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

UMassBoston

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id